Far Eastern Economic Review writes about progress made by journalists in China, despite official censorship:
Chinese newsstands get more impressive by the day: So much is on offer that most of them have opted to add a few extra magazine holders on the pavement. Here, a holder brimming with publications on collecting and the arts, interior decoration, and architecture. Opposite, another one with magazines on golf and various sports, cars, aviation, video games and so on. Conspicuous consumption publications abound, taking pride of place among the plethora of fashion magazines that becomes ever larger: all the famous international names are there, from Vogue to Cosmopolitan, busy “educating the taste” (as they claim) of contemporary Chinese urban women…
While this goes to show how hungry for written information people in China are, and how readily the market is trying to satisfy their demands, it is unavoidable to wonder: can such printed abundance really be monitored, censored, and controlled?
“There is not a single private publication in China, this remains strictly forbidden,” says Li San, a journalist working for Sanlian Shenghuo, the highest-selling weekly glossy (although circulation figures are not divulged). It’s a magazine that carries stories on lifestyle, society, celebrities and economics. Mr. Li himself, a very well-groomed man in his forties, a bit vain and determined not to look at all political, writes mostly about “wine, cars, luxury products: stuff that, for China, is a novelty. So, by testing these new products we are doing our readers a service”, he says. Even though it is a decidedly light magazine, Sanlian cannot be independent”it is published by the Sanlian Book Publication Group, which operates under the China Editions Group, a large publishing company that is linked to the Ministry of Propaganda. And none of this guarantees Sanlian immunity from trouble: in April the magazine was penalized and its editor reprimanded for having covered “politically sensitive anniversaries.” Nothing particularly unheard of, as what the magazine carried were photos that can be freely seen in China: a picture of Jiang Qing, or Madame Mao, standing trial at the end of the Cultural Revolution; and one of Mao himself, on the 30th anniversary of his death.
The magazine was penalized with the loss of “six points,” following the latest fashion for controlling publications”the point system is similar to the system some countries use to penalize reckless drivers. A deficit of 12 points and the publication is forced to fold. [Full text – subscribers only]
