The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.
Minitrue: All websites (including official media) find and delete the articles “Beauty in the Shrubbery,” [Chinese] and “Xi Yuanping Article Remembers Father; Photo With Wife Zhang Lanlan Revealed” [Chinese]. In addition to related content on news websites, also clean up related information on interactive platforms. (October 18, 2014)
全网查删（包括中央媒体）《习远平:梢林美丽》，《习远平撰文忆父亲 与妻子张澜澜合影曝光》。除新闻网站的相关内容外，重点对互动环节中的相关信息进行清理。并将前一天的清理情况上报网信办。[Chinese]
Last week, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily published an essay by Xi Jinping’s brother Xi Yuanping titled “Beauty in the Shrubbery” (《梢林美丽》, now deleted but cached by Google). The essay, written to celebrate what would be the 110th birthday of father and late revolutionary leader Xi Zhongxun, revealed that the Xi Yuanping has been married to Zhang Lanlan since 2008. Zhang, a PLA singer and once frequent television gala host, had been out of the public view since that same year. The Telegraph describes a follow-up media report citing Xi’s essay:
In a rare glimpse into the life of the Xi family, a newspaper in the southern city of Shenzhen quoted the Communist leader’s younger brother Xi Yuanping describing his marriage to singer Zhang Lanlan.
The report, which was quickly deleted from Chinese websites, quoted Xi Yuanping, 58, as saying that he had married the 34-year-old Zhang – nicknamed the “military’s top beautiful woman” – the same year.
[…] Xi Jinping similarly married military singer Peng Liyuan, who was herself for many years a mainstay of the new year gala – the most watched television show in the world.
China’s leaders are highly secretive and tightly restrict any reports about their private lives in local media. [Source]
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.
