Slashdot Mirror
China to Control Reports of Foreign News Agencies
afa writes "According to Xinhuanet.com, Xinhua News Agency on Sunday promulgated a set of measures to regulate the release of news and information in China by foreign news agencies. From the article: 'Where a foreign news agency violates the Measures in one of the following manners, Xinhua News Agency shall give it a warning, demand rectification within a prescribed time limit, suspend its release of specified content, suspend or cancel its qualifications of a foreign news agency for releasing news and information in China, on the merits of each case.'"
Here we go with the China bashing again. Criticism from countries which comply with all the international laws for human rights and freedom of speech need only apply. So that discounts the US, UK and a large swaythe of the european countries. I mean who ever heard of news being censored in the US or UK. No way never happened. And of course our government agencies would never try to discredit anybody trying to tell a story other than the offical government line. Never. Oh wait. "Dr David Kelly" anyone?. How about the Pentagon's censoring images of coffins coming home. Or maybe the outing of Valerie Plame? And of course the official story is always correct. WMDs anyone? No? how about some Tillman? We need to get our *own* houses in order before we lay into some other country's ethics on free speech and personal liberties when it comes issues of national reputation/security.
The important thing that various republican forms we call "democracy" do is give people the the power to "throw the bums out".
It is probably impossible to change an unvirtuous, corrupt, but economically fortunate government under any system...
Stifling bad news is not a wise policy, certainly when taken to extremes.
I agree with what you say. Seems like our current regime is on to this, for they have seized control of the voting system and claim if we say something against them that we are helping the terrorists. Is a benevolent dictator, an enlightened despot, something that we will never see in our lifetimes?