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.
The article “North Korea announces: Kim Jong Un ordered a test of a hydrogen bomb. The test was successful” and all related news must close comments. All websites must not hype related topics. [Chinese]
Early Sunday, North Korea announced that it had carried out its sixth nuclear test with a hydrogen bomb that could be carried on an intercontinental ballistic missile. The test, which generated an earthquake that the U.S. Geological Survey measured at 6.3 magnitude, was much larger than previous such tests.
Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have been rising since President Trump’s inauguration in January, and the latest test comes after Trump has issued a series of stringent warnings to North Korea over its nuclear program. After the recent tests, Trump criticized China for its failure to resolve the North Korea crisis and threatened to cease trade with that country and others that also trade with Pyongyang.
..North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China. 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. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.
