Censorship in China

Censorship in China is aimed at Chinese citizens, not foreign visitors, so it affects Chinese-language media more than English media. However, the effects are still strongly felt by visitors to China. The blocking of internet sites is the biggest enterprise, and anyone trying to do online researches will be frustrated by the number of inaccessible websites. The internet censorship is haphazard and unorganized; so many websites with no content even related to China will be blocked, while the sites of large news companies are not. Due to the difficulty of controlling such an extensive and ever-changing stream of data, "disruptive" information often slips through, and technology innovators are finding ways to override or trick the system. English-language television, such as cable and broadcasting from Hong Kong, is also censored. News and other programs with content that the government considers a threat to its stability (particularly regarding protests, natural disasters, Tibet and Taiwan) are blocked out, often clumsily because the censoring is done on a live broadcast. When the offending material comes on, it is simply cut and replaced by an infomercial or public service announcement. All commercial advertising from foreign channels is blocked in the same manner. When the TV program moves to a commercial break, the government monitors switch to their own stream of government-approved ads. This is performed on a live and constant schedule by government information agencies at local and national levels.

On 13 February 2009, Li Dongdong, a deputy chief of the General Administration of Press and Publication, announced the introduction of a series of rules and regulations to strengthen oversight and administration of news professionals and reporting activities. The regulations would include a "full database of people who engage in unhealthy professional conduct" who would be excluded from engaging in news reporting and editing work. Although the controls were ostensibly to "resolutely halt fake news", it was criticized by Li Datong, editor at the China Youth Daily who was dismissed for criticizing state censorship. Li Datong said "There really is a problem with fake reporting and reporters, but there are already plenty of ways to deal with that." Reuters said that although Communist Party's Propaganda Department micro-manages what newspapers and other media do and do not report, the government remains concerned about unrest amid the economic slowdown and the 20th anniversary of the pro-democracy protests in 1989.

The timing of the incident has raised fears that officials disguised the health risk to avoid a scandal during the Beijing Olympic Games in August. Supplies from China's leading manufacturer of baby milk, Sanlu, were tainted by the addition of melamine, the company confirmed last week. Fonterra, a New Zealand company which has a 43 per cent stake in Sanlu and three directors on its board, knew about the problem on Aug 2, it said. The country's Prime Minister Helen Clark confirmed that the company had reported the matter to local Chinese officials, but pleas for a recall of the product fell on deaf ears. It was only after Mrs Clark was informed of the impasse on Sept 5, and three days later notified the central Chinese government of what had happened, that action was taken. Even so, it took until last Thursday before a recall of all milk distributed before Aug 6 was announced. "They have been trying for weeks to get official recall and the local authorities in China would not do it," Mrs Clark said. Andrew Ferrier, chief executive of Fonterra, gave no further explanation for the cover-up, and refused to speculate on an Olympic connection. But China Digital Times, a website run by Xiao Qiang, a Chinese exile now based in California, has pointed out that it happened in the week before the opening of the Olympic Games, when the government was especially keen to control "bad news”. A document purporting to be a 21-point list of instructions for the media in advance of the Games issued by the propaganda department and leaked to The Daily Telegraph contained at number eight the words: "All food safety issues, such as cancer-causing mineral water, are off-limits".

China's crackdown on pornography is gathering pace following reports that 700 Web sites have been shut down and 220 people arrested as authorities try to censor XXX sites. Last month China announced plans to crack down on adult websites with officials claiming that the "rampant" increase in online porn is damaging the moral fabric of the nation - and young people in particular. One official said that porn "severely damaged social style, polluted the social environment, and harmed the physical and psychological health of the young people". With half of China's 87m Net users under 24, the latest reports suggest that many young people are using the Net to learn about sex because information is hard to come by. While the Government is considering improving sex education, it's also using technology to block access to sites and arresting those peddling porn. Last month Chinese websites, ISPs and other Internet-related organizations were "invited" to sign a self-discipline pact to prevent the spread of anti-government information, porn and anything else that might threaten "national security (and) social stability".