Freedom of Expression

Beijing officials have issued a "new regulation" requiring all Internet cafes in the city to forward photographs of customers to a city law enforcement department to be kept on file for monitoring purposes, according to an October 16, 2008, Xinhua article. According to the article, by mid-December all Internet cafes will be required to install and use a machine consisting of a digital camera and ID scanner. First-time customers wishing to access computers at a cafe will be required to stand before the machine, known as the "Beijing City Internet Cafe Internet Access Registration Device," which will photograph the customer, scan his or her ID, and forward the information to the Beijing Cultural Law Enforcement Agency. The Xinhua article said that 1,500 Internet cafes in Beijing already have begun using the system, which was first introduced in 2005.

The State Council on October 17, 2008, issued the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on News Covering Activities of the Permanent Offices of Foreign News Agencies and Foreign Journalists, which became effective immediately. The new regulations make permanent the less restrictive conditions introduced by the Regulations on Reporting Activities in China by Foreign Journalists During the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period (Olympic Regulations), which took effect on January 1, 2007, and expired on October 17, 2008, the day the new regulations became effective.

Chinese officials recently sent an order to all newspaper editors in China banning coverage of politically sensitive topics and instructing them on how to cover other topics for the Olympics, according to August 12 articles in the South China Morning Post (SCMP, subscription required) and Telegraph. SCMP, citing mainland reporters as its source, said that the order came in the form of a 21-point directive issued in July.

Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao's June 20 speech (via People's Daily) on the press in China highlighted the increasingly important role journalists play in maintaining the Party's ideological and political control. The speech gave little indication that China plans to grant its media greater freedom of the press. The setting and timing of the speech were significant, taking place at the offices of the People's Daily on the occasion of the Communist Party's flagship newspaper's 60th anniversary.

Over the last year, public security officials across China have ordered hotels, guesthouses, and other places offering Internet access on a "non-commercial" (fei jingying xing) basis to comply with existing Internet regulations and install Internet security systems capable of monitoring and censoring users' Internet activities.