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.
All websites search out and delete the Caijing Magazine article “After Cleanup Campaign Beijing Locals Begin to Worry: Villages are Empty, Don’t Have the Rent.” (January 7, 2018) [Chinese]
The Caijing article, published on December 25, 2017, described the effects that Beijing’s “crackdown on unsafe dwellings” had on the economy and the livelihoods of many Beijing locals. The 40-day crackdown was launched following a deadly fire in a textile district in southern Beijing on November 18, and was criticized sharply for resulting in mass evictions for many migrant workers. Discussing the migrants impacted by the safety drive, netizens recalled usage of the term “low-end population” in statements and media reports, criticizing the government for an unjust approach to migrant laborers long seen in policy. The Caijing report noted the negative effect that the crackdown had on the incomes of many local landlords and retail shop owners, and also described related Beijing development policies.
CDT earlier translated a leaked directive on the November 18 fire ordering that coverage follow that of official news outlets, and another ordering the deletion of “malicious” commentary on the cleanup campaign.
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.
