The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.
All websites close comments and do not hype the article “Private Passports of Employees on the Payroll of the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau All Held for Safekeeping”. (December 6, 2017) [Chinese]
The December 5 Beijing News article, which is still available online, describes an official policy decision by the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau to hold all regular employees’ official emigration and border papers to “higher authorities for safekeeping.” The report notes that the measures are to ensure that documents are “fully traceable.” The article continues to outline the relevant policies which require employees to sign a disciplinary commitment promising to abide by all laws in foreign countries that they visit on personal trips, and that each employee assume direct responsibility for doing so.
The “safekeeping” of private passports in an effort to better manage the conduct of state employees has been reported in the past.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China. 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. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.
