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General Administration of Press and Publication The General Administration of Press and Publication [新闻出版总署] is the government's administrative agency responsible for drafting and enforcing China's prior restraint regulations, as well as for screening books discussing "important topics." Specifically, the GAPP's responsibilities include:
For an example of how the GAPP exercises its authority, see the Notice Regarding Resolutely Clamping Down on Illegal Publishing Activities: In accordance with State regulations, no entity or individual may engage in publishing, printing, copying or distributing books, newspapers, periodicals, or audio-visual publications without authorization from the General Administration of Press and Publication.More recently, in December, 2003 the GAPP announced that it was kicking off a year-long program to increase scrutiny of publications by banning 19 dictionaries. State Administration of Radio, Film and Television China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television [广播电影电视总局] controls the content of all radio, television, satellite, and Internet broadcasts in China (including, where it is able, foreign satellite broadcasts). Ministry for Information Industry China's Ministry for Information Industry [信息产业部] is responsible for regulating China's telecommunications and software industries. Pursuant to the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services, however, it also controls the licensing and registration of all "Internet information services" (sometimes translated as "Internet content providers"), which are defined to include anyone providing information to the public via the Internet. State Council Information Office The State Council is the supreme administrative organ of state power. According to the website of China's State Council Information Office [国务院信息办公室] (www.china.org.cn), the SCIO's job is to "promote Chinese media to publicize China to the world, including introducing China's policies, stands, economic development, history and culture." It is also responsible, however, for restricting who may post news on the Internet:
Articles 4, 6, and 8 of the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Websites Engaged in News Posting Operations Central Propaganda Department The Central Propaganda Department [中共中央宣传部] is the Communist Party's counterpart to the government's GAPP and SARFT. Whereas the GAPP and SARFT exercise their censorship powers through their authority to license (and rescind the licenses of) publishers, the CPD is the organization primarily responsible for monitoring content to ensure that China's publishers, in particular its news publishers, do not print anything that is inconsistent with the Communist Party's political dogma. It does this by:
4. When relevant publishing houses are arranging for the publication of topics for these types of books, local publishing houses shall provide drafts to their local Press and Publication Office, which shall read and evaluate the manuscript and offer their opinions, and after receiving approval from the Communist Party Propaganda Department shall provide it to the General Administration of Press and Publication for examination and approval. Central level publishing houses shall provide a draft to their responsible department, and after the responsible department has reviewed the manuscript and provided an opinion, provide it to the General Administration of Press and Publication for examination and approval. Manuscripts written about major Party and national leaders who are currently living must solicit the opinions of that person prior to submission to the General Administration of Press and Publication.The CPD also works closely with the SARFT. See, for example, the Notice Regarding Strengthening the Administration Work of Provincial Level Television Satellite Program Channels: (1) Satellite television channels shall strictly observe propaganda requirements, and firmly observe correct guidance of public opinion. With respect to reports on important events, breaking stories and other sensitive issues, they must obey the integrated dispositions of the local party committee Propaganda Departments, and strictly abide by Party discipline. Ministry of Public Security China's Ministry of Public Security [公安部] is responsible for filtering and monitoring the Internet. General Administration for Customs Customs authorities [海关总署] are under instructions to confiscate any publication that is "harmful to the government." Based on Commission staff observations and Chinese news reports, this apparently includes books and newspapers that can be freely purchased and read in Hong Kong. State Secrecy Bureau China's State Secrecy Bureau [国家保密局] chills freedom of expression by exploiting China's state secrets laws and designating practically all information relating to China's government, economy, diplomacy, technology, and military as potentially a state secret, and making China's citizens, and not the government, responsible for maintaining these secrets. China's Judiciary While China's courts do not engage in actual censorship themselves, it is China's judges, perhaps more than any other group, who chill freedom of expression in China by imprisoning people who are guilty of nothing other than expressing opinions inconsistent with those of the Communist Party. Judges in China encourage self-censorship in the following ways:
Learn More An extensive list of Chinese laws and regulations that prohibit Chinese people from exercising their right to publish, including excerpts from relevant sections, is available in Chinese and English here. Visit this page for a discussion of what we mean by "freedom of publication." |
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