Coverage of President Xi Jinping’s Europe trip is subject to censorship by the State Council Information Office. According to a recent directive from that office, “all websites must promptly republish Xinhua wire copy, and interactive platforms must take care to control negative commentary.”
Censors thwart Weibo users who search for information about captured “tigers,” or officials facing corruption charges. Search terms blocked on Weibo include: “Three Gorges + tiger” and “electric power + tiger,” terms that refer to the dismissal of the Three Gorges Dam chairman of the board and president.
Protests against a proposed paraxylene (PX) plant in Maoming, Guangdong Province may have turned violent according to online accounts. The Guangdong Propaganda Department isn’t willing to risk the protests’ spread, alerting websites to “take care to delete all calls for protest in Guangdong.”
This week’s Slogan of the Week: smog the people, is derived from Mao’s slogan “serve the people.” It’s doubtful that Mao could foresee that his motto would be recast in the 21st century to depict China’s environmental crisis.
