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: The media must absolutely follow Xinhua wire copy as the standard in covering the Bo Xilai trial. Heads and sponsors of news media must conscientiously strengthen monitoring of the weibo and blogs of subordinates. (August 20, 2013)
中宣部：有关薄熙来案件开庭的报道，媒体一律以新华社的通稿为准。各新闻媒体主管主办单位要切实强化对所辖媒体工作人员之微博、博客的监管工作。
Follow CDT’s Bo Xilai Trial liveblog for updates and background on the case.
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.
