Freedom of Expression
Numerous reports in foreign media of China's initial response to the May 12 Sichuan earthquake described unusual media openness and government candor when compared to previous disasters. From the beginning, however, Communist Party and government officials directed Chinese media to emphasize the government's proactive response to the disaster and to focus on positive stories that promoted national unity and stability. Furthermore, China has quickly sought to rein in press coverage of topics that could taint the public's view of China's response, including allegations of official malfeasance leading to the collapse of a large number of schools. After parents of some of the thousands of children killed in the collapses began protests, officials reportedly ordered Chinese media to curb reporting on the issue, forcibly removed parents from protest sites, and briefly held foreign reporters trying to cover the protests in custody.
During a period when media openness arguably should be at a high point, domestic and foreign reporters in China continue to be shut out of many areas and prevented from covering stories that authorities deem sensitive. This panel discussion examined the impact of these and other developments in China on the eve of the Olympic Games.
Authorities in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) have placed Mongolian rights activist and journalist Naranbilig under house arrest after detaining him for 20 days in March and April, according to reports from the U.S.-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC). Naranbilig had planned to attend the United Nations (UN) Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York when authorities intercepted his invitation letter and detained him on March 23, according to an April 28 report from SMHRIC. Authorities prevented Naranbilig from consulting with a lawyer while he was detained, and his family members were not informed of the grounds for his detention or of his whereabouts. Authorities released Naranbilig on bail on April 23 and placed him under house arrest for one year, according to the report. They also confiscated his passport.
Publishing regulators should ensure that magazine or periodical supplements related to the May 12 earthquake do not contain "negative content," according to a May 22 circular issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), a government agency with the power to screen, censor, and ban any print, electronic, or Internet publication in China.
On April 7, 2008, the Zhejiang Provincial High People's Court affirmed a lower court's decision to sentence freelance writer Lu Gengsong to four years in prison for inciting subversion of state power, a crime under Article 105 of China's Criminal Law. Boxun, a U.S.-based citizen journalist Web site that publishes information and commentary on current events in China, posted a copy of the Zhejiang court's decision, and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) has translated the decision into English.
Cell phone, landline, and Internet transmissions have reportedly been disrupted in Tibetan areas of western China, according to foreign media, overseas Tibetan groups, and the blog of a noted Tibetan writer in reports from mid-March to late April. The disruptions come amidst protests by Tibetans that began on March 10. It is unclear to what extent the measures are necessary to protect security in those areas, but their effect, along with other measures such as the ban on foreign journalists entering large parts of western China, have made it difficult to access and confirm information about the protests.
In a move that Chinese officials claim is intended to combat corruption, increase public oversight and participation in government, and allow citizens access to government-held information, the State Council on April 5, 2007, issued the first national Regulations on Open Government Information (OGI Regulation), which take effect May 1, 2008. Implementation begins at a time when the need for greater transparency in the areas of environmental health, land disputes, disease, and food, drug, and product safety has become apparent. The time lag between issue and effective date provided citizens and government departments a one-year preparatory period.
Foreign media in mid-March reported incidents of censorship of the Internet and international news broadcasts in China following Tibetan protests that began on March 10. The Chinese government and Internet companies operating in China routinely censor political content on the Internet in China, but the recent actions indicate stepped up efforts to control access to information about the protests. About a week after the protests started, foreign news media in China noted that access to foreign Web sites had been blocked, video Web sites and search engine results appeared to be censored, and foreign news broadcasts were temporarily blacked out.
Chinese officials have barred foreign journalists from entering large parts of western China to cover recent incidents of Tibetan protests. The closed areas include the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), about half of Sichuan province, and parts of Qinghai, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces, according to a March 20 Deutsche Welle article and an April 10 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article. Foreign journalists trying to enter or leave the areas reported incidents where local police locked them in a hotel overnight or threatened to confiscate their footage, according to the Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) and an April 5 Associated Press (AP) article (via the International Herald Tribune).
Yang Chunlin, the land rights activist who organized a petition titled "We Want Human Rights, Not the Olympics," was sentenced to five years in prison on March 24 by the Jiamusi City Intermediate People's Court in Heilongjiang province for "inciting subversion of state power," according to March 24 articles by the Associated Press (AP) and Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD). The court also sentenced Yang to two years deprivation of political rights, according to CHRD.