China
2013
An open plea: Xi and Obama can accomplish one thing
Dear President Xi and President Obama, You will both have received many public and private letters of advice prior to your meeting on Friday and Saturday in California. They will urge you to take up specific issues ranging from military and trade concerns to human rights. That diversity of concern is an indicator of how…
Anxiety for jailed Tibetan filmmaker as release nears
In a better world, it is usually a time for joy when a prisoner nears his or her release date. Jailed Tibetan journalists and their families do not live in that world. They live in a crueler place, where freedom is a distant mirage that might never be reached, and exhaustion or death is the…
In China, reporter’s death sparks questions on censorship
Twenty-four-year-old Bai Lu was just four days into her new job as a journalist at the Urumqi Evening Post when she was killed. She and her colleague, Chen Aiying, were struck by a bulldozer while reporting at a major construction project on April 18 in the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang province. Chen was seriously…
China decrees use of foreign news must be approved
You have to wonder how this will be enforced, but China’s State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television has issued a “Notice on Strengthening Control of Media Personnel’s Online Activities” (关于加强新闻采编人员网络活动管理的通知). Chinese media organizations have been told to stop posting foreign media news without government permission: “Without authorization, no kind of media outlets shall arbitrarily…
Zeng Li: A rueful look at how censorship works in China
Three days into his retirement, Zeng Li (曾礼) died yesterday at age 61, apparently of intestinal bleeding. Surprisingly, his March 28 farewell letter has spread across China’s social media sites and blogs. The letter is an apology, an explanation of sorts, and an admission of regret regarding the latter part of his career. Zeng served…
Drawing lessons from Chinese attacks on US media
Not every media company is as tempting a target for hackers as The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Wall Street Journal. Not every company can afford high-priced computer security consultants, either. Is there anything that everyday reporters and their editors can learn about protecting themselves, based on the revelatory details the Times…