Written by Abby On 18 April 2013
China’s media authority has announced new regulations [1] barring news outlets and other organizations from reporting on foreign media coverage [2] without permission.
The General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television’s unveiled the tighter controls in a notice [3] [zh] released on April 16, 2013, less than a day after The New York Times announced [4] it had won a Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper’s report [5]on the hidden wealth of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s family.
In response to that October 2012 report, the Chinese government blocked [6] the New York Times website as well as Wen Jiabao’s name on Sina Weibo.
In addition to requiring Chinese media to have authorization to use foreign media content, the regulations also clamp down on organizations and journalists sharing information on social media, such as popular microblogging site Sina Weibo, that wouldn’t normally be included in publication.
The notice, published by China’s state media Xinhua, reads [7] [zh]:
å„类新闻å•ä½å‡ä¸å¾—擅自使用境外媒体ã€å¢ƒå¤–网站新闻信æ¯äº§å“。åšå†³åˆ¶æ¢å’Œä¾æ³•æŸ¥å¤„采编人员以网络为平å°ç‰Ÿå–éžæ³•åˆ©ç›Šç‰è¡Œä¸ºã€‚æ–°é—»å•ä½è®¾ç«‹å®˜æ–¹å¾®åšé¡»å‘其主管å•ä½å¤‡æ¡ˆå¹¶æŒ‡å®šä¸“人å‘布æƒå¨ä¿¡æ¯ï¼ŒåŠæ—¶åˆ 除有害信æ¯ã€‚
All news outlets are not allowed to use news information from foreign media or foreign websites without permission. It is firmly forbidden for journalists and editors to use the Internet as a platform to seek illegal benefits; such behavior will be investigated and punished according to the law. To start an official Weibo account, news agencies should first report to authorities for record and appoint a staff to be responsible for posting authoritative information and deleting harmful information in time.
Most of the stories from the foreign pages of state-run newspaper were sourced from international news agencies. According to The Telegraph [2], the ban on the use of foreign media would have a big impact on Chinese newspapers.
The news has triggered online outrage among many Weibo users, especially among journalists. Beijing-based journalist “Qingdeng Xiaxiangmingbian” wrote [8] [zh]:
Public opinion supervision is essential for a healthy society, the scale of criticism is the scale of democracy, “if criticism is not free, then praise is meaningless”. The correct conclusion is from a wide range of voices, rather than what is chosen by the authority.
Web user “Lida Suibi” questioned [10] [zh] if having such a tight grasp on the media is even effective in the long run:
什么是有害信æ¯ï¼Ÿæˆ‘觉得,信æ¯åªæœ‰çœŸå‡ä¹‹åˆ†ã€‚新闻的唯一目的是转æ’真相,这是人类社会的基本需求。在新ä¸å›½åŽ†å²ä¸Šï¼Œè¢«å®£ä¼ 管ç†éƒ¨é—¨å®šä¹‰ä¸ºæœ‰å®³ä¿¡æ¯çš„ç»å¤§éƒ¨åˆ†ä¿¡æ¯ï¼Œäº‹åŽéƒ½è¢«è¯æ˜Žæ˜¯æ£ç¡®çš„。æ€æƒ³å±è”½ä¹Ÿè®¸æœ‰æ•ˆä¸€æ—¶ï¼Œä½†æŽ©è€³ç›—铃之ç–éžé•¿ä¹…之é“。
What is harmful information? I think there’s only true and false information. The purpose of the news is to broadcast the truth, which is the basic need of a society. Most of the harmful information as defined by the propaganda department throughout the history of the Chinese republic proved to be accurate. Blocking information and opinions may be effective temporarily, but such a policy of self-denial won’t work in the long run.
Another web user “Yun Mu” echoed [11] [zh] the sentiment with a Chinese idiom:
欲盖弥彰ï¼
The more one tries to hide, the more one is exposed.
“Ye Laodie aiLvse” wrote [12] [zh] sarcastically:
è¿™è¦å˜æœé²œäº†å—?
Are we going to become North Korea?
Journalist Liu Xiangqian pointed out [13] [zh] the lack of a new media law in China:
是法律法规严é‡è½åŽäºŽäº‹ç‰©çš„å‘展ï¼äº’è”网到目å‰ä¸ºæ¢è¿˜ä¸è¢«è®¤ä¸ºæ˜¯æ³•å¾‹æ„义上媒体,何况自媒体ï¼
Laws and regulations are seriously lagging behind in the development of things! The Internet has not been considered media in the legal sense, not to mention citizen media!
Article printed from Global Voices: http://globalvoicesonline.org
URL to article: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/04/18/china-bans-media-from-quoting-foreign-news/
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