Business and Human Rights

The People's Daily has published an interview with Zhu Hong, the head of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, in which Zhu discusses new regulations on foreign television programs in China. Some excerpts:

The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) recently promulgated a regulation (in Chinese) that protects products that register a specific geographical indication (GI). The term "GI" describes the legal protection provided to a product distinctive because it is made completely from materials of a particular place or created in a way distinctive to that place.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) released the text of the Steel Industry Development Policy on July 20. The State Council approved the policy in April 2005, but had not previously released the text. Once called the "State Planning Commission," the NDRC has issued previous industry development policies, including the 2004 Auto Industry Development Policy.

The State Council announced July 26 that it had referred a draft government information disclosure regulation to the relevant agency for issuance. Neither the State Council nor any other Chinese government agency has released a draft of the measure, although China's WTO transparency commitments in effect require public release of draft regulations before final promulgation.

At a July 26 press conference, a State Council Informatization Office official said that the regulation would make the release of government information mandatory. The official did not define the term "government information" or discuss any other possible limits on disclosure that might be contained in the regulation. The official did not disclose which central government agency would issue the regulation, when it would be issued, or when it would take effect.

Coinciding with China's State Administration for Radio, Film, and Television ("SARFT") issuing a Notice last week further restricting foreign participation in China's domestic television and film production, the People's Daily Web site has reprinted an article by Xiong Zhonghui expressing concern about how Chinese media outlets can compete in a global marketplace. Xiong, a media scholar in China, notes that one of the issues facing Chinese news media outlets is the fact that the primary purpose for their existence is to spread Chinese government propaganda:

China's highest court and procuratorate have issued an Interpretation (in Chinese and an unofficial English translation) adjusting the threshold for transfer of IPR infringement cases from administrative adjudication to criminal enforcement. Through the various IP Laws (unofficial English translations available here and China's Criminal Law) Chinese law includes both a remedy for an individual rightsholder through a civil law suit and criminal provisions that carry fines and prison sentences for commercial operations that sell infringing goods. China's December 2001 accession to the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property requires these remedies.

The Voice of America reports that a CNN broadcast to Beijing went blank for about 15 seconds when New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark responded to a CNN interviewer's question about human rights in the Asia Pacific region. Chinese censors acted similarly immediately after the death of former Communist Party General Secretary and senior leader Zhao Ziyang, when CNN and BBC broadcasts went blank as soon as they mentioned Zhao's name.

According to the PRC's Measures on the Administration of Foreign Satellite Television Channel Reception, foreign satellite broadcasters may legally distribute their channels only through terrestrial stations controlled by Chinese authorities, and from there, only to viewers at government-authorized locations.

Pan Yue, Deputy Director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, recently announced that the Chinese government will introduce mechanisms to attract foreign investment in environmental protection, according to a Xinhua report. The announcement comes after the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) proposed plans to increase the use of economic measures to promote environmental protection. The government officially encourages investment in environmental industries in the Catalogue Guiding Foreign Investment.