Xinhua Editor's Discussion of "Public Opinion Supervision" Illustrates Government's Approach to Censorship

The June 16 edition of "Seeking Truth," the official journal of China's Communist Party, includes an editorial by Nan Zhenzhong, editor-in-chief of Xinhua. The editorial discusses "public opinion supervision" (yulun jiandu), a Communist Party doctrine that dictates how China's state controlled media is allowed to report on national affairs. Nan's editorial provides several insights into how Chinese authorities approach censorship of politically sensitive news reports:

The Party and the government use censorship as a tool to strengthen the Party's control

Nan states that "public opinion supervision cannot cover all matters and record everything." Instead of being allowed to report freely, the news media's reports must support Party and government decrees, "strengthen supervision of the implementation of the Party's and the government's policies," "uphold central authority," and "ensure that government decrees are not impeded." Nan said that public supervision has three functions: criticism, venting, and warning. The latter two functions are explicitly intended to benefit the Party:

• Venting: "Strengthening and improving public opinion supervision allows the masses of people to release their opinions and emotions."
• Warning: "Public opinion supervision . . . is a kind of expression of self-confidence, and it can cause readers and observers to get the feeling that our Party and country have the power and the means to gradually resolve any kind of negative phenomenon that occurs in the process of economic and social development."

Party and government officials censor news reports to focus on the Party's success, and downplay its failures

Even though Nan listed "criticism" as one of the functions of public opinion supervision, he believes that critical reports should be the exception, rather than the rule. Nan quoted Mao Zedong, saying "What issues should be pointed out for criticism? What issues should not be pointed out for criticism? This must be subject to study." Nan said that the news media should "increase the analysis and commendation of model good people and good deeds from all areas," and that 94.2 percent of Xinhua's public opinion supervision reports in the first quarter of 2005 were "positive" reports.

The Chinese government intends to further increase its control over the press

Even though Chinese authorities already prohibit private publishing and require all news media to be subject to Party supervision and censorship, Nan believes that China's "six judicial explanations, 49 administrative regulations, and 180 agency rules with contents that relate to public opinion supervision" are insufficient. He said it is necessary to enact additional legislation "to clarify the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of the news media." Nan also called on the news media to step up its "education" of editors and reporters, and raise their "political caliber."

While central Party and government authorities' consider their own censorship of the news media to be laudable, local authorities must not be allowed to censor the Party or the government

Nan expresses concern that local officials are censoring the state controlled news media, and thereby inhibiting the central authorities' ability to guide public opinion:

[F]urthermore it is common to refuse interviews with reporters "without an appropriate reason," and some even abuse their administrative authority to suppress criticism, interfere with public opinion supervision, and some restrict newspapers, magazines, and radio and television programs from undertaking normal distribution, sales, and broadcasts in their area, in order to avoid public opinion supervision.

The practices that Nan complains about are identical to those China's government uses to prevent China's citizens from accessing critical reports from outside of China, and prohibit them from exercising their constitutional right to freedom of the press.

Nan's editorial also provided some background on the origins of the concept of public opinion supervision. According to Nan, beginning in 1987, "public opinion supervision" was mentioned four consecutive times in the Party's work reports to meetings of National People's Congresses:

• 13th NPC work report: "Bring into play the utility of public opinion supervision, and support the masses' criticisms of shortcomings and mistakes in work."
• 14th NPC work report: "Emphasize the public supervision of dissemination media, gradually perfect supervision mechanisms, and enable agencies at all levels and their employees to be placed under effective supervision."
• 15th NPC work report: "Unite internal Party supervision, legal supervision, and mass supervision, and bring into play the utility of public opinion supervision."
• 16th NPC work report: "Strengthen organizational supervision and democratic supervision, and bring into play the utility of public opinion supervision."