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Rule of Law Updates from the October 2005 CECC Newsletter
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Yahoo! Cited in Court Decision as Providing Evidence in Shi Tao State Secrets Trial

On April 27, 2005, a Chinese court sentenced newspaper editor Shi Tao to 10 years imprisonment for disclosing state secrets for e-mailing notes of an editorial meeting to an organization in New York City. On September 6 Reporters Without Borders noted that the court's decision cited "customer information provided by the Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited" to verify that the e-mail originated from Shi Tao's place of work. Specifically, the decision cited the following:
Materials proving customer information provided by the Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, verifying that the corresponding customer information for IP address: 218.76.8.201, time: April 20, 2004 11:32.17 p.m. is the following: customer telephone number: 0731-4376362, Hunan "Contemporary Business News" Publishing House. Address: Second Floor, Building 88, Jian Xiang New Village, Kaifu District, Changsha Municipality.
The Washington Post quoted Yahoo's co-founder, Jerry Yang, as responding to a question at a forum in Hangzhou on September 10 regarding Yahoo's involvement in the case by saying: "To be doing business in China, or anywhere else in the world, we have to comply with local law. We don't know what they want that information for, we're not told what they look for. If they give us the proper documentation and court orders, we give them things that satisfy both our privacy policy and the local rules." He also reportedly told the forum that the demand for the information was a "legal order," and said that he "would not put our company or its employees at risk in any way shape of [sic] form." Journalist groups and scholars have noted that the nature of the "legal order" to Yahoo! remains unclear, as well as the method by which Yahoo! determines the legality of such orders.

Source: -See Summary (2005-09-27 / English / Free) | Posted on: 2005-10-04  
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Chinese Government Declassifies Information on Fatalities From Natural Disasters

The National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets (NAPSS) announced that information about the number of fatalities caused by natural disasters will no longer be a state secret, according to a September 12 Xinhua article. A NAPSS spokesperson told a joint NAPSS and Ministry of Civil Affairs news conference that releasing this information would benefit disaster prevention and relief work, according to the report. Therefore, the relevant provisions of the "Rules on State Secrets and the Scope of Their Classification in Civil Affairs Work" were annulled, the spokesperson said.

A commentary posted on Xinhua's English language Web site said the spokesperson attributed the previous secrecy to "decisions made based on historical background," but declined to elaborate. It also stated:
Death from natural calamities used to be taboo among government officials. Analysts think that under a planned economy, from [the] early 1950s to late 1970s, the Communist Party of China feared that exposing death figures could tarnish its image, draw blame from the public, or trigger social turmoil. On July 28, 1976, the country witnessed the devastating Tangshan earthquake in north China's Hebei province. However, the report of a 240,000 death toll was only released three years later. But the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) , in 2003 has driven the government to become more transparent.
While this development is an encouraging sign, all news media in China remain subject to government prior restraints on who may publish and who may engage in journalism, as well as an extensive screening system for politically sensitive news.

Source: Xinhua - Chinese (2005-09-12 / Chinese / Free) | Posted on: 2005-09-30  
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NPC Standing Committee Passes Public Security Administration Punishment Law

The National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) passed a new Public Security Administration Punishment Law on August 28, according to an article on the People's Daily Web site. "Public order" offenses are a category of violations that includes traffic offenses, public disturbances, prostitution, drug use, and other "minor crimes" that the Chinese government punishes with administrative penalties, including fines and administrative detention, rather than criminal sentences. Such administrative punishments are controversial because police issue them without effective judicial review or even the minimal procedural protections that the Criminal Procedure Law provides to criminal defendants. According to Xinhua, police handled over 5 million public order cases involving more than 10 million people in 2004.

The NPCSC has been deliberating the legislation since October 2004, and it will take effect on March 1, 2006. The new law replaces the 1987 Regulations on Public Security Administration Punishment, and resolves a legal problem with those regulations: under Article 8(5) of the Legislation Law, punishments that involve deprivation of personal freedoms must be established by national law, not a "regulation."

Chinese news media stressed that, in deliberating the new law, NPCSC members placed great emphasis on balancing the maintenance of public order and the protection of human rights (for examples of such articles, click on the following: 1, 2, 3). The law says that the "implementation of public order administration punishments must be fair, just, respect and safeguard human rights, and protect the human dignity of citizens," establishes a limit of 20 days detention for multiple public order offenses (as opposed to the 30 days that the Public Security Ministry reportedly requested), and prohibits torture and the collection of evidence through illegal means. But the final version of the law also maintains the Public Security Bureaus as the agencies with the power to adjudicate cases and administer punishments. The law also sets a maximum interrogation period of 24 hours (rather than the 12 hours proposed in an earlier draft), and does not give the accused the right to a hearing in detention cases or the right to legal representation. Moreover, the law creates new categories of offenses including "inciting or plotting illegal assemblies, marches, or demonstrations."

According to the Legal Daily, NPCSC delegates argued for a maximum administrative detention period under the new law that is shorter than the minimum imprisonment period under the Criminal Law. Their reasoning was that public order offenses are not considered "crimes" that warrant trial and sentencing under the Criminal Law and the shortest period of imprisonment under China's Criminal Law is 30 days. Such arguments would seem to have implications for another controversial form of administrative detention--re-education through labor (RETL). RETL offenses are similar to public order offenses in that they are considered something less than a "crime" that warrants prosecution and punishment under the Criminal Law. The maximum period of detention under RETL, however, is three years, with the possibility of a one year extension.

Source: -See Summary (2005-09-01 ) | Posted on: 2006-05-22  
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Chinese Authorities To "Rate" Domestic NGOs

Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) officials have announced plans to "rate" China's 289,000 NGOs, according to an August 31 Beijing News article. MOCA convened a conference of experts on August 30 to discuss the establishment of an "assessment system" for NGOs.

Experts called for increased supervision of NGOs and the elimination of those that are illegally established, according to an announcement posted on the MOCA Web site. MOCA officials noted that many NGOs are inefficient and non-transparent, and said that the new "assessment system" is aimed at ensuring their healthy development.

These moves follow increasing Chinese government scrutiny over, and restrictions on, the operations of foreign and domestic NGOs (see this analysis), and suggests that Chinese authorities may be considering whether or not to impose stricter controls on NGOs.


Source: Beijing News (2005-08-31 / Chinese / Free) | Posted on: 2006-10-04  
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UN Committee on Rights of the Child Urges China To Allow Visit to Boy Named As Panchen Lama

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on September 20 called for the Chinese government "to allow an independent body to verify the current status" of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the boy the Dalai Lama recognized in 1995 as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. During meetings in Geneva, UNCRC Chairman Jacob Doek said the boy "has been taken against his and his parents' will from Tibet to China," and told the Chinese representative that Chinese authorities could "clear the air" by allowing a visit, according to a report the following day by the exiled Tibetan government. The Chinese official reportedly replied that he would forward the request, and advised Chairman Doek that the Chinese government has not permitted "foreigners" to visit the boy and his parents because "too much interference creates too many problems," and the family does not want "to be disturbed due to security reasons." The U.S. government has urged the Chinese government to end restrictions on Gedun Choekyi Nyima and his family and to allow international representatives to visit them.

After the Dalai Lama announced his recognition of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the State Council declared the announcement "illegal and invalid" and installed another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu (Xinhua report). Chinese security officials took Gedun Choekyi Nyima and his parents into custody and have kept them incommunicado since that time. Chinese authorities conduct political education classes in Tibetan monasteries and nunneries and require monks and nuns to endorse the legitimacy of Gyaltsen Norbu or face expulsion. Tibetans who possess an image of Gedun Choekyi Nyima or express support for him may face punishment that can include imprisonment.

Source: Tibetan Government in Exile (2005-09-23 / English / Free) | Posted on: 2006-01-26  
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Xinjiang Police Form Special Unit To Investigate Exiled Activist Rebiya Kadeer

A special police unit in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region will monitor the relatives and business interests of exiled activist Rebiya Kadeer, according to an August 30 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report. Kadeer served over five years in prison in Xinjiang for disclosing "state secrets" contained in newspaper clippings she sent abroad. A police officer confirmed to RFA that a special unit known as the Number 307 Office, or Rebiya Kadeer Investigation Office, is operating in Urumqi. Alim Abdiriyim, Kadeer's son, told RFA that his family members must notify the 307 Office if they wish to leave the city. Police also detained two of Kadeer's nephews for a day during the week of August 26, and attempted to confiscate their passports.

Before her March 2005 release, Kadeer said, prison guards warned her not to discuss Uighur issues abroad, or else her business interests and relatives who remain in Xinjiang would suffer the consequences. Xinjiang police began what appeared to be a politically motivated attack on Kadeer's family and associates in May, according to a Human Rights Watch report. Several of her associates were detained and a son went into hiding. Alim Abdiriyim told RFA that since the police raided his family's business in May and began "ruining our reputation," the family has been unable to make payments on a 9 million yuan bank loan.

On August 26, Wang Lequan, the Communist Party General Secretary in Xinjiang, accused Kadeer of plotting terrorist attacks to disrupt the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Autonomous Region on October 1 (for details, see here). Wang offered no evidence to support the allegations. Wang also accused Kadeer of economic fraud, tax evasion, and loan default.


Source: -See Summary (2005-08-31 ) | Posted on: 2006-01-09  
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Censorship Agency Launches Campaign to "Inspect" Evening Newspapers

The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) announced a nation-wide inspection of China's evening newspapers, according to a September 21 article (in Chinese) on Xinhua's Web site. The report originally appeared in the China News Report, a publication of the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA). GAPP officials made the announcement at the first meeting of the "National Evening (Section) Quality Inspection Committee," which convened in Beijing on September 19. The GAPP's Periodical Bureau will supervise the inspection campaign, which will be conducted by an "internal" organization within the ACJA and will target 39 evening newspapers around China.

Wang Guoqing, deputy chief of the GAPP's Periodical Bureau, told the meeting that the GAPP intends the inspection campaign to increase its control over publishing. He said that this campaign had "strong political administration supervision overtones," and would focus on resolving issues relating to "news for compensation [journalists accepting bribes], false news, vulgarity, and harmful advertising." Wang also told the meeting that the purpose of the campaign is to improve the "quality" of evening newspapers. The ACJA article reports that the scope of the inspections would include examining the "political orientation" of the newspapers' content. Inspectors will award newspapers points, with content being the most heavily weighted category (the others are editing, design, and printing).

The newspaper inspection campaign is reminiscent of two events in the last year which demonstrated how the Chinese government and Communist Party authorities' "grading" of the press influences what Chinese citizens read. The first involved a new Regulation on the Administration of Book Quality, which became effective in March 2005. The second occurred in August 2005, when Li Datong, an editor of the China Youth Daily, criticized a proposed policy under which journalists at that newspaper would receive increased compensation for writing articles that received praise from Communist Party and government leaders.

Click on "more" below for additional details on these events.



The first event occurred in March 2005, when a new Regulation on the Administration of Book Quality became effective. The regulation specified that not only are publishers forbidden from reprinting books that do not conform to government-mandated quality requirements, but authorities must also confiscate copies of such books that have already been sold. The regulation divided books into two categories: those that meet quality standards and those that do not. One of the factors in determining whether a book meets quality standards is whether or not its contents "harm the honor or the interests of China," or "disturb social order or disrupt social stability." Books with an "error rate" greater than .05 percent must be confiscated.

The second recent event illustrating how Chinese authorities "grade" the press occurred on August 15, when Chinese dissident Web sites published a letter (in Chinese) from Li Datong, a senior editor at China Youth Daily, to the paper's editor-in-chief Li Erliang complaining about a proposed appraisal system which would tie journalists' promotions and compensation to praise by Communist Party and government officials. Under the new system, reporters would receive 50 pay credits for high reader response, but between 90 and 120 pay credits for stories praised by leaders of the Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department, between 80 and 100 pay credits for stories praised by government leaders at the ministerial or provincial level, and 300 pay credits for stories praised by the senior central government leaders. One former editor of a Chinese newspaper who now lives in the United States told Radio Free Asia it was "common knowledge that official preferences were the guideline for Chinese newspapers' editorial decisions," but that by making it a guideline for evaluation, "It has almost become law." A China Youth Daily staffer told the Christian Science Monitor: "This is not only happening at our paper, it is a problem at papers everywhere in China."

The South China Morning Post reported on August 16 that authorities had issued a notice banning Web sites from running Li Datong's letter and related news. Nevertheless, after Li Datong's letter became public and the proposed system became the target of criticism in the foreign press and among Internet users in China, the leadership of the China Youth Daily (which is sponsored by the Communist Party Youth League) said it would abandon the proposed formal appraisal policy.
Source: Xinhua - Chinese (2005-09-26 / Chinese / Free) | Posted on: 2005-09-27 more ...
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Ministry of Information Industry Publication: Controlling "Harmful" Information on the Internet "Top Priority"

Saying that "when humanity opened the window to the Internet civilization, it also opened Pandora's box," a September 1 article in the Ministry of Information Industry's (MII) People's Post and Telecommunication News states that "Controlling the dissemination of harmful information on the Internet has become one of the government's foremost pressing responsibilities." Although the only "harmful information" mentioned explicitly in the article is pornography, it cites the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Web sites Engaged in News Posting Operations (Provisions) as one government measure enacted to "control harmful information" on the Internet. Enacted in 2000 by the MII and the State Council Information Office (SCIO), the Provisions include the following restrictions on freedom of expression and the free flow of information:
  • News Web sites may only be operated by government agencies with authorization from the SCIO.
  • General interest Web sites may only post news promulgated by government news agencies, and then only with authorization from the SCIO.
  • All Web sites are prohibited from linking to Web sites outside of China without authorization, or posting news issued by news media or Web sites outside of China, unless explicitly authorized to do so by the SCIO.
In 2001 the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) also issued the Notice Regarding Prohibiting the Transmission of Harmful Information and Further Regulating Publishing Order, which prohibits anyone from establishing an enterprise whose primary purpose is transmitting news or engaging in news publishing without permission from the GAPP.

Recent examples of China's government attempting to restrict Chinese citizen's access to foreign news sources on the Internet include:

Source: -See Summary (2005-09-01 / Chinese / Free) | Posted on: 2005-09-29  
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Government Regulators Block Foreign Access to China's Media Market

Chinese government regulators blocked Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.'s plan to operate a television channel in China, according to an August 30 New York Times report (registration required). According to the Times, News Corp. had been distributing the National Geographic Channel, a music channel, and other programming to local cable television companies without government permission. The government's action coincides with its recent promulgation of several regulations that limit foreign access to China's media industry:
Under WTO rules, a WTO member can only enforce published trade-related measures. The Chinese government has not published the Opinions and the Measures. When it acceded to the WTO, China specifically committed to publish all trade-related measures for comment before promulgation. The government did not publish any of the measures listed above before promulgation.

Click on "more" below for additional analysis.



Adoption of these measures appears to be part of a larger government policy to protect China's domestic media industry from foreign competition. For example:
  • In March 2005, and coinciding with the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television's increasing restrictions on foreign participation in China's domestic television and film production, the People's Daily Web site reprinted an article by a Chinese media scholar expressing concern about how Chinese news media can compete in a global marketplace:
    While foreign media are entering China with the pursuit of profit as their primary motivation, Chinese [media] are entering foreign [markets] primarily to establish a propaganda presence, and become a state-owned propaganda agency. However, our experience with marketized operations of television stations and our actual strength is still insufficient to become State propaganda organs, and at the very least they are insufficiently specialized.
  • In July 2005, when Chinese authorities launched a crackdown on foreign periodicals being published and distributed in China without government permission, they issued a notice saying:
    News offices at all levels must cooperate with press and publication administrations in their local jurisdictions, and be guided by foreigners living in China as their target readership, go through approved newspaper and magazine publishing units, strictly obey the country's relevant laws and regulations, deeply understand and analyze the reading habits and needs of readers, and enable the newspapers and periodicals that they publish to have greater focus, utility, timeliness, and readability, in order to do their best to satisfy the newspaper and magazine reading demands of foreigners residing in China.
  • The General Administration of Press and Publication banned dozens of foreign video games in January 2005, and one week after SARFT issued the Notice Regarding the Prohibition on Broadcasting Television Programs About Computer and Internet Games in July 2005, the People's Daily reported (in Chinese) that the GAPP had announced plans to invest 15 billion yuan to promote the creation of 100 government-developed computer games over the next five years.
The government's primary reason for enacting these regulations is to limit public access to foreign sources of information. In late 2004 and early 2005, Chinese authorities voiced concerns that in recent years the Communist Party has been losing the monopoly it held since 1949 over what Chinese citizens view, read, and listen to - what they refer to as the "ideological domain." These regulations are a response to those concerns. For Example:
  • In September 2004, Liu Yunshan, member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, secretary of the Secretariat, and director of the Central Propaganda Department gave a speech at the National Propaganda Directors Seminar setting forth the Party's propaganda priorities for the upcoming year:
    In order to consolidate the guiding position of Marxism, it is necessary to ensure the leadership of the Party in ideological work. . . No matter what changes occur in the situation or the environment, there can be no change in the Party's control over ideology. It is necessary to insist on the principle that the Party controls the cadres, to strengthen the building of the leadership ranks in ideological agencies and work units, and to grasp the work and leadership of news publishing, radio and television, and the cultural arts and philosophical and social sciences firmly within the hands of those loyal to Marxism. It is necessary to establish an awareness that this is a battlefield, and that people have a responsibility for defending this territory. The thought and culture battlefield is the primary vehicle and dissemination channel of ideology, and if Marxist thought does not occupy it, then all kinds of non-Marxist, and even anti-Marxist, thought will occupy it. . . It is necessary to insist on prosperity on the one hand, and control on the other, to promote prosperity through control, and absolutely refuse to give incorrect thoughts or viewpoints any channel for dissemination.
    . . . .
    To strengthen and improve news propaganda, it is necessary to insist on the principle that the Party supervises the media. At no time and under no circumstances shall the nature of the news media as the mouthpieces of the Party and the people be allowed to change, the policy that the Party supervises the media shall not be allowed to change, and the correct guidance of public opinion shall not be allowed to change.

    For there to be correct guidance of social public opinion, it is necessary to place a high degree of emphasis on the influence the Internet and other new forms media have on social public opinion, and to actively seize the high ground of the domain of propagandizing public opinion. . . Taking the initiative in capturing this new ideological work battlefield of the Internet and seizing the high ground of propagandizing public opinion is an imperative requirement in grasping the initiative in propaganda ideology work and an important aspect of increasing the Party's ability to govern. . . It is necessary to clarify responsibility for Internet supervision, and form an effective guard against the dissemination of harmful information, and promote long term effective working mechanisms for the healthy development of the Internet.
  • In September and October 2004, the Party Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued several documents that in later months would serve as the policy basis for restricting Chinese citizen's access outside information on the Internet in general, and on university Internet forums in particular:
    • "Opinion Regarding Further Strengthening and Improving the Ideological and Political Education of College Students" (also referred to as "Document Number 16"). Official sources reported that the Opinion said that "Strengthening and improving the political thought education of university students is an exceedingly pressing and important duty," and called on universities to "take the initiative in capturing the new battlefield of ideological and political education on the Internet.
    • "Regarding the Current Situation of Ideological Theory Domains and Working Measures that Need to Be Adopted" (also referred to as "Document Number 29"). An official with the GAPP said the Party issued this document to increase pre-publication screening of the ideological orientation of books, newspapers, and magazines.
    • "Opinion Regarding Further Strengthening Internet Administration Work" (also referred to as "Document Number 32"). According to government sources, this document called for increased Party and government administration of the Internet in order to "strengthen of the Party's ability to govern," and called on authorities to "increase online monitoring, observation, critique, and appraisal work," and "uncover problems in a timely manner, correct them in a timely manner, and refute and clarify rumors, gossip, and incorrect discussions.
  • In October 2004, Liu Binjie, deputy director of the GAPP, gave a speech saying:
    Regardless of how we go about reforming or what organization system we implement, we cannot allow any change in the correct guidance of public opinion. This relates to the problem of strengthening Marxist ideology, and it relates to the problem of ensuring the dominant position of Marxist ideology, it relates to the problem of disseminating the Party's primary ideology. What we must first allow for is that we must insist that the Party's primary media remain state owned.
  • In November 2004, an official with the GAPP delivered a report saying that "[e]nemy forces are using the Internet and other new communication media methods to carry out ideological infiltration," and that the government and the Party must adopt measures to stop "noise and static in the ideological domain."
  • In December 2004, the People's Daily reprinted an article from the Wenhui Bao saying that the Internet "is not only a mass medium, but also is an ideological and public opinion battlefield," and calling on Chinese authorities to use the law to silence speech that "provokes trouble," or "confuses public opinion," and "improve the technology and techniques for guiding public opinion." It also said the government controlled media should strive to be the first to deliver information in order to "undercut the enemy and guide public opinion."
  • Also in December 2004, the People's Daily published its own opinion piece saying:
    Just as we have taken the initiative to emphasize that the work of newspapers, television, and radio must have a firm grasp on propaganda ideology work, we must also build up the emphasis on Internet public opinion propaganda . . . In recent years the Internet has been a battlefield for the Communist Party's propaganda ideology work . . . Both at home and abroad there are hostile influences and people with ulterior motives who are using the Internet to make us "divided" and "westernized." They disseminate fake information, spread reactionary speech, and even employ Internet writers to write about socially hot topics and sensitive news to fool Internet users and misguide public opinion. If we do not move to capture the ideological battlefield, others will occupy it. . . . Relevant agencies should strengthen management of the Internet and form an inter-connected, extremely efficient management of the Internet.
  • Also in December 2004, the Sichuan division of China's Sweep Away Pornography and Strike Down Illegal Publications Task Force published a report saying:
    Throughout the history of the process of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, international and domestic hostile forces have incessantly used publications to carry out political and cultural infiltration of our country, attempting to create ideological chaos, disrupting our country's political quietude and social stability, and thereby achieve their political scheme of westernization and division.
  • In January 2005, a Party official at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences gave a report that discussed "the central authorities' problems regarding the need to emphasize and strengthen the Party's leadership of ideology work, and realistically consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological domain." The report said the Internet posed a new challenge to the Party's leadership, and justified recent Party policy statements calling for increased censorship as necessary to counteract threats posed by "Western enemy forces."
  • Also in January 2005, an official from the provincial Communist Party Propaganda Department of Shanxi province told a "news work meeting," that no type of news media could be allowed to "have a different standard, or form a second public opinion forum." He also said that the news media must not be allowed to "raise difficulties, air opposing views, or interfere with themes," and that a need exists to increase oversight of freelance writers, stringers, and private organizations that provide photographs and articles.
  • Also in January 2005, Liu Yuzhu, head of the Ministry of Culture's Market Department, wrote in Seeking Truth: "Western countries, headed by the United States, have occupied an advantageous position with respect to the spread of the Internet, and they dump on China massive amounts of information of all kinds, including their political models, value systems, and lifestyles, in order to oppose and edge out socialist values."
Source: -See Summary (2005-09-05 / English / Free) | Posted on: 2005-10-01 more ...
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Government Assigns Largest Group of Ethnic Han Officials to Date to Posts in Uighur Areas

According to the Xinjiang Daily, 947 government workers from outside the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region began three-year assignments in Xinjiang in mid-2005. Wang Encheng, director of the Central Personnel Department, reported that this fifth class of "Assist Xinjiang" cadres is the largest to date, with 130 more officials than were assigned in 2004. He noted that a "new era in the 'Assist Xinjiang Cadre Policy' has begun," with the new arrivals assuming a larger number of first secretary Party posts at the county level. The Personnel Department will place the cadres primarily in southern Xinjiang, where over 95 percent of the population is Uighur, though new positions also have been added in the north.

The Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law mandates that the top official in each autonomous area be a member of the titular minority, but no similar provisions exist reserving senior Communist Party posts for minority representatives. All of the Xinjiang Party first secretaries, for example, are ethnic Han. The central government's "Assist Tibet, Assist Xinjiang, Assist Border Regions" personnel policy has placed tens of thousands of ethnic Han officials in minority areas since 1982. The goal of the policy is to combat "domestic and foreign forces'...vain attempts to stir up ethnic separatism and to threaten our country's social stability, ethnic harmony, and national unity," according to the State Ethnic Affairs Commission Web site. The Xinjiang Daily article downplayed the cadres' contributions to security and highlighted their role as "bridges for cooperation" between Xinjiang and the rest of China.


Source: -See Summary (2005-09-08 ) | Posted on: 2005-09-27  
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Government Issues Notices Restricting Media Rights, and Calling for More Propaganda for Children

China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) issued three new notices in mid-September:

Notice of "Self Discipline Agreement for Chinese Radio and Television Announcers and Hosts" (2005-09-10). The Agreement states that announcers and hosts will "voluntarily" obey the Professional Ethical Standards for China Radio and Television Announcers and Hosts that SARFT issued in December 2004. The text of the Agreement is largely identical to that of the Standards. Under the Agreement, announcers and hosts commit to increase their study of political theory, raise their political character and political proficiency, guide people with "correct public opinion," passionately love "the motherland," serve the greater interests of the work of the Communist Party and the government, and implement the Communist Party's "line, principles, and policies."

Notice Regarding Correctly Administering Radio and Television Live Reporting (2005-09-10). The notice warns that live broadcasts of reports relating to politics and government policies must be handled carefully in order to avoid "problems." The notice does not specify what these problems are, but states that in order to "ensure the correct guidance of public opinion," radio and television broadcasters must receive approval from SARFT before making any "large scale live broadcast reports of significant events . . . especially those live broadcast reports of activities chaired by central leading cadres." The notice also requires all radio and television broadcasters to be sensitive to "political" issues and "increase their political acumen and their powers of political discrimination." Broadcasters must also screen live broadcast reports to "ensure their orientation is correct."

Urgent Notice Regarding Prohibiting the Use of Dedicated Programs to Broadcast Foreign Animated Films (2005-09-13). The notice complains that some televisions stations in China have been broadcasting foreign animated features without first allowing SARFT to screen them. The notice is partly a move to increase the Communist Party's ability to influence the political ideology of China's children, as it says that some of the animated features have "orientation mistakes," and calls on broadcasters to increase their "political awareness" and aggressively carry out the implementation of the "Certain Opinions of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council Regarding Strengthening and Improving the Building of Children's Ideology and Morality." It also comes in the same week Xinhua reported a Chinese company was developing a series of video games based on 100 Chinese heroes to promote patriotism and allow children to be "influenced by the characters [sic] of the national heroes." Another Xinhua report (in Chinese) said the first game in the series was introduced by Shi Feng, deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publication, which recently announced (in Chinese) it would invest 15 billion yuan to promote the creation of 100 government-developed computer games over the next five years. The notice is also an example of economic protectionism, however, as it specifies that at least 60 percent of animated feature broadcasts must be domestic productions. Since May 2005, Chinese authorities have issued at least six other regulations and launched at least one crackdown in order to limit the economic and political influence of foreign news and entertainment media in China.

Source: State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (2005-09-18 / Chinese / Free) | Posted on: 2006-03-28  
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Shandong City Requires Web Sites to Register with Public Security Office

Public security officials in Penglian, Shandong province, have issued a notice that all small and medium sized Web sites in the city must register with the police, according to a September 2 article on a Web site operated by the Dalian municipal government and local Communist Party Central Committee. The article states that the registration is necessary to "clean out" Web sites with "reactionary" and other types of "harmful" information. Public security officials intend to investigate Web sites that register and "punish" Web sites that fail to register.

Penglian joins Qingdao, Beijing, and Guangzhou in forcing Web sites to register with public security authorities. Officials have cited provisions of the Measures for the Administration of Security Protection of Computer Information Networks with International Interconnections as authorizing this registration requirement, but have not explained why the government has chosen to begin enforcing those provisions now, when the Measures were enacted in 1997. The move coincides, however, with the Ministry of Information Industry's (MII) recently concluded crackdown on private Web sites that resulted in the closure of thousands of Web sites whose operators failed to register. Like the public security crackdown, the MII's campaign was based on regulations that were enacted several years ago (the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services, which became effective in 2000), but that are only now being enforced (pursuant to the Registration Administration Measures for Non-Commercial Internet Information Services).


Source: -See Summary (2005-09-02 / Chinese / Free) | Posted on: 2005-09-28  
 Link directly to this item with: http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=22876
Ministry of Commerce Promulgates Auto Trade Policy

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) promulgated a policy (in Chinese) governing trade in autos and automobile-related products on August 10. The policy contains provisions governing both trade within China and the import and export of autos and auto-related products, but no specific provisions that would advance Chinese government efforts to create an export-oriented auto industry. The policy confirms that foreign investors may enter the domestic distribution market for autos; such rights are part of China's WTO accession commitment to open the distribution sector. The policy prohibits imports of used cars, used car parts, and right-side drive autos.

A Ministry of Commerce official explained (in English and Chinese) that the government issued the new policy to develop a competitive domestic industry in all aspects of auto distribution. MOFCOM evidently made no changes to the draft version that it released for comment in October 2004.

U.S. industry spokesmen told a major U.S. trade publication (subscription required) that the prohibition of used auto imports would not affect U.S. auto manufacturers.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), issued a more general Auto Industry Development Policy (in Chinese) in 2004. The policy seeks to create a consolidated domestic auto manufacturing industry. An August 23 Xinhua article reports that the general provisions will form the basis for more detailed measures in the future to advance the policy's goals.

The auto industry regime in place before the new auto trade policy was announced in August has caused some problems for U.S. and other foreign companies. For example, in April, the NDRC issued the Management Measures for Imports of Auto Parts Having the Characteristics of a Complete Automobile (in Chinese), which significantly increased the rate of duty on "knock-down kits" (kits of unassembled auto components requiring only assembly in China) to equal the rate on imported autos that are completely assembled. Some U.S. manufacturers export knock-down kits to China.

Source: -See Summary (2005-08-29 ) | Posted on: 2005-09-29  
 Link directly to this item with: http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=21964


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