Freedom of Expression

On March 15, the official news agency Xinhua reported how the Chinese government's policy of restricting politically sensitive information harms not only foreign media, but also China's domestic news reporters. A Xinhua report described how public security authorities in Qingxu county, Shanxi province, "interfered with the regular interviews of a Xinhua reporter" and "illegally restricted his personal freedom."

The CECC noted in its 2004 Annual Report that government officials in Dingnan county, Jiangxi province, removed pages of the People's Daily before it was distributed in August 2003. The excised pages included a report about corruption in the county government. In September 2003, the China Youth Daily, the People's Daily, and Xinhua published a series of reports decrying the Dingnan censorship, which they deemed "appalling."

See below for excerpts and analysis.

In September and October 2004, several sources reported that Xiao Weibin, editor-in-chief of the magazine "Tong Zhou Gong Jin," was fired for publishing an interview with former Guangdong Party leader Ren Zhongyi. In December 2004, the South China Morning Post reported that Ren Zhongyi and four other members of the six-member Tong Zhou Gong Jin advisory board had resigned to protest Xiao’s dismissal.

On March 16, the SCMP published an article reporting that Xiao has now been stripped of his seat on Guangdong province's People's Political Consultative Conference, after he refused to sign a letter of resignation. The article also cited Xu Youyu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as saying: "Freedom of expression should not be punished like a common crime. It's because they exercised their right to voice their opinion that they are punished."

Two recent reports have examined China's burgeoning markets for books and electronic media:

In November 2003, the Chinese government promulgated the Notice Regarding Issuance of National Uniform Journalist Accreditation. Pursuant to this notice, in January 2004, Chinese authorities began issuing a national journalist "ID Card" and maintaining a database of government-accredited journalists, as well as individuals whose journalistic credentials had expired or been revoked. The official news agency Xinhua recently published several articles (in Chinese) on the first anniversary of the Notice, and has announced that new regulations will take effect on March 1, 2005 (click "more" below to view summaries of the articles).

The People's Daily Web site reports that China's State Administration for Radio, Film, and Television ("SARFT") issued a Notice last week further restricting foreign participation in China's domestic television and film production. The Notice cited the need to improve control over the political and ideological content of television programs produced in cooperation with foreign companies.

The China Youth Daily summarized China’s 2005 legislative plan in a March 3 report. According to the report, the NPC and its Standing Committee will consider 31 legislative proposals, including 20 draft laws and 11 amendment proposals, in 2005. The NPC’s legislative priorities reportedly include the Law on States of Emergency, the Anti-Monopoly Law, the Law on Administrative Coercive Measures, and amendments to the Securities Law. For the full agenda, see below.

On February 18, China's General Administration of Press and Publication ("GAPP") issued the Urgent Notice Regarding Carrying Out a Directed Investigation into Books Containing False Propaganda Information. The following week the Notice and its implementation began receiving extensive coverage in China's state-run media:

New Regulations on the Administration of Book Quality became effective on March 1, according to a March 2 report carried on the People's Daily Web site. Administered by the General Administration of Press and Publications ("GAPP"), the new Regulations were enacted on December 24, 2004 and supersede a similar regulation from 1997.