The following censorship instruction, issued to the media by government authorities, has been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.
Do not republish reports related to Alibaba “red second generation” shareholders. (July 26, 2014)
阿里巴巴“红二代”股东相关报道不转载。
As Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is preparing for an upcoming New York IPO, the New York Times’ Michael Forsythe recently reported on shareholding companies’ family ties to top Party leadership, a situation creating an opportunity to profit for some princelings and members of the “red second generation.” The Times also ran a Chinese-language version of the story. Earlier this week, search terms related to Alibaba’s political ties became sensitive words on Weibo.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. 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.
