The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online.
Central Propaganda Department: Regarding the natural massif landslide with occurred at the China Gold Group’s mining area in Lhasa, use Xinhua wire copy and information issued by authorative departments as the standard. Write reliably. Objectively and accurately report on the disaster. Cover disaster relief promptly and abundantly. Properly guide public opinion. Without exception, do not report or speculate on related sensitive issues. Do not send journalists to the scene to investigate or report [live]. (March 30, 2013)
中宣部：对中国黄金集团位于西藏拉萨的矿区发生山体自然塌方一事，要以新华社通稿和权威部门发布的信息为准，稳妥握管，客观准确报道灾情，及时充分报道救灾工作，正确引导舆论，对相关敏感问题一律不作报道炒作，不派记者到事发地采访报导。
Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to these instructions as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.” CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date on CDT Chinese is noted after the directives; 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.
