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 as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.”
State Council Information Office: Take heed to delete the article “39 Missing in Shanxi Tunnel Explosion.” Related print and broadcast content must only use information from relevant government authorities and Xinhua wire copy. Do not hype this story. (March 12, 2014)
国信办:注意删除《山西隧道爆炸39人失踪失联》一文,有关内容只可采用有关部门权威信息,新华社通稿刊播不炒作。
AFP reported this morning that 31 have been confirmed dead and nine more are still missing after a March 1 explosion resulted from two chemical trucks colliding in a tunnel.
CDT collects directives from a variety of sources and checks 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.
WAR IS PEACE • FREEDOM IS SLAVERY • IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH