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China to Control Reports of Foreign News Agencies

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the can't-stop-the-censors dept.

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.'"

7 of 268 comments (clear)

  1. Olympic schizophenia by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Interesting
    With the Beijing Olympics in 2008, they're obliged to allow foreign news reporters virtually free access. But at the same time the old guard is deeply suspicious of foreign media. So you see opening on one hand, clamp down with the other. The country needs the Internet for business, but wants to lock it down to prevent free political discussion. Obviously self-contradictory policies like these can't work practically. In the long run, the media will be free, but in the short term, a lot of people could get ground up. For instance, several reporters, ethnic Chinese but usually foreign citizens, are in jail for long terms for "espionage", reporting "state secrets" for reporting economic statistics, or interviewing people the government would rather stay out of the limelight.

    As 2008 approaches, look for a lot of activity on this front.

  2. Re:Ironic by mcrbids · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When will people learn you can't control, regulate or do much of anything with the internet?

    They never will, because it's not true.

    What's that you say?

    At its heart, the Internet is simply a form of communication. All other forms of communication are regulated, why wouldn't the Internet? The fact that it's new doesn't mean that it's un-regulatable so much as the powers that be haven't regulated it... yet.

    Give it time. And then the "next big thing" will come along, and the Internet will be no more interesting than a ham radio today.

    --
    I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
  3. the Measures... by svunt · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If The Measures isn't the best Orwellian name possible for a set of repressive rules, I don't know what is.

  4. Talk to them, like we talked to Sinn Fein by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Recall that US dictates who gets to be called a terrorist organisation.

    Hamas chose a moderate Palestinian Prime Minister to meet Israel half way. That move to moderation should have been met with a carrot not a stick. Just because the leadership was objectionable to Israel, it shouldn't automatically be objectionable to the world. What if Sinn Fein was kept out of politics just because they are the political wing of the IRA?

  5. We Demand That We May Or May Not Make Demands! by saihung · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So the cost of being a journalist in China is that you're not allowed to be a journalist in China?
    Stuff 'em. If all they want is sanitized misinformation, let them manufacture it themselves. They make everything else anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

  6. Re:Get our own houses in order by youguessedit · · Score: 3, Interesting
    The censorship situation in the US/England/Europe is in no way comparable to the degree of control they have in China. Does everything really have to be 0 or 1 to you? Being 1% bad is the same as being 70% bad?

    Nothing is every going to be perfect in any country. But pretending that you can't rate things along a scale is just being intellectually unserious.

    Would you rather have access to news available while you're in the US or news available to you while you're in China?

    I've lived in China for almost four years. When SARS broke in the Western and Hong Kong media, none of my friends here new about it for months. I distinctly remember the night when Beijing released the news. No one was on the bus the next day.

    When there was the power transfer to Pres. Hu, there really was a media blackout. I can usually get CNN, NYTimes and the WoPo (but not Wikipedia, the BCC or some blogs), but nothing was available then.

    If you think it's just as bad at home as it is here, then fine. Get your news from Xinhua. I'll take take Western news any day.

  7. Re:Absolute bullshit by Andy+Gardner · · Score: 2, Interesting
    endanger China's national security, reputation and interests



    Although we dont have any specifc laws stating this if the media asks the right questions (or wrong as it were) and crosses the line then then the shit hits the fan. Of course nobody goes to jail like perhaps might happen in China but you can be sure heads will roll, which has the same effect of keeping things in check. Take the Andrew Gilligan/Greg Dyke business a few years ago. The UK government released a dossier outlining the justification for war in Iraq which provided no evidence and lacked any substance whatsoever and Andrew Gilligan reported this. He was quickly sacked but Greg Dyke supported him, subsequently Greg Dyke was sacked, the Director-General of the BBC.


    I think the point trying to be made is that exaclty the same thing is expected of the media in the west, we just go about it more subtley.