The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online.
Central Propaganda Department: Regarding the discovery that new recruits were beaten by Wuda District Unit Two of the Wuhai City, Inner Mongolia Fire Department, the media must report the news only according to Xinhua News Agency wire copy. Do not independently investigate or comment on the matter. (January 6, 2014)
中宣部：关于网络曝光的内蒙古自治区乌海市乌达消防二中队打新兵事件，媒体一律按照新华社的通稿报道，不自行采访和评论。
It is unclear when this directive was issued, but it concerns an incident from June 2012 which came to light on December 9. The Wuhai Fire Department posted a weibo [zh] about the incident on that day which received over 57,400 times–many of them angry:
Public Notice on Incident Involving the Beating of New Recruits at Wuda District Unit Two of the Wuhai City Fire Department
乌海市乌达区消防二中队打新兵事件情况通报
At 10 a.m. on December 9, 2013, the Wuhai Fire Department received a notice from the municipal Public Security Bureau’s Public Sentiment Inspection and Control Department that they had discovered videos on Tencent under the title “Wuda District Unit Two of Wuhai City Fire Department Beats New Recruits.” The fire department quickly verified the circumstances depicted in the videos. We determined that the location shown in the videos was indeed Wuda District Unit Two and that the persons concerned are members of the unit.
2013年12月9日上午10时，乌海消防支队接到市公安局舆情监控部门的通知，发现腾讯视频出现题目为《乌海市乌达区消防二中队打新兵事件》的相关视频，支队迅速调取视频对情况进行核实。经查，该视频反映的地点确为乌海市消防支队乌达区二中队，当事人确为该中队士兵。
From our initial understanding and investigation, this incident occurred in June 2012. That this happened is thoroughly reprehensible, and its effects are truly vile. We are deeply shocked and distressed at the revelation of such serious problems in fire department management and feel a great sense of responsibility. We wish to extend our sincerest apologies to all elements of society and to the firefighters who were victimized. The department has already formed a working group which is conducting a thorough investigation. All departmental and unit personnel implicated in the incident have been suspended from their duties and are undergoing investigation. Once the results of these investigations are clear, those responsible for and present at the incident will be dealt with strictly, in accordance with the law and disciplinary codes. Concerned persons which have already left the unit will be referred to the public security office to be investigated and dealt with. Concerned persons who have not yet left the unit and are still in active service will be strictly dealt with, in accordance with departmental regulatory clauses and the relevant laws and regulations. Those who have broken the law will be transferred to public security to be dealt with.
经初步了解和调查，该事件发生于2012年6月份。该事件的发生，性质十分恶劣，影响十分恶劣，暴露出我们在部队管理中的严重问题，我们深感震惊，痛心和自责，在此向社会各界和被殴打士兵表示深深的歉意。目前，支队已组成工作组正在对该事件进行深入调查，并已要求事件所涉大、中队相关责任人停职接受组织调查，待调查了解清楚之后，将依法依纪对相关责任人和当事人进行严肃处理，对于已经离开部队的当事人提请公安机关介入调查处理，未离开部队尚在服役的当事人除依据部队条令例和相关法规进行严肃处理，触犯法律的移交公安机关处理。
[Source]
“You still haven’t reached a conclusion?” (你们还没出结果？) asked @GS艾力斯. “Aren’t you fucking efficient” (真你妈效率高), wrote @小小小毛头. “The videos have all been deleted,” noted @你也等夏天. “You must be relieved” (视频都删了 你们是不是就安心了).
Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to these instructions as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.”
CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date on CDT Chinese is noted after the directives; the date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.
