The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to these instructions as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.”
Central Propaganda Department: Regarding the recent incident in which villagers from Xuancheng, Anhui Province assembled at the local government [offices] and overturned official vehicles: if reporting this, the media must use standard sources; do not speculate or exaggerate; and do not independently investigate, report, or comment. (August 15, 2013)
中宣部：对近期安徽宣城村民聚集乡政府掀翻公务车事件，各媒体若报道须采用正规来源的稿件，不炒作渲染，不自行采访报道评论。
According to RFA, Jingzhou villagers protested in front of the village government building on August 10, smashing windows, overturning vehicles, and beating some government employees. The villagers have lost at least 2,500 acres worth of hickory trees to drought, and have been angered by the government’s poor response to the situation.
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.
