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 downplay the liquid ammonia leak at a refrigeration plant in Shanghai. (September 1, 2013)
中宣部:上海一冷冻厂发生液氮泄漏事故一事,各媒体淡化处理。
15 people died and at least 26 others fell ill after a liquid ammonia leak on August 31 at the Shanghai Weng Brand Cold Storage Industrial Company in Shanghai’s Baoshan District.
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.