Information about today’s attack on border police in the western Chinese city of Kashgar is coming almost entirely from the official Xinhua News Agency. What’s interesting is the huge difference in the agency’s own reports, depending on what language you’re reading. In English, the attack was a suspected act of terrorism by Uighur separatists. In…
Many Hong Kong papers ran a story about the ill-advised remarks of Regina Ip, the former secretary of security for Hong Kong, and a candidate in September’s elections for a seat in the Hong Kong Legislative Council (Legco). Ip said the “neck-shoving” techniques used by Beijing police to roust Hong Kong reporters covering the July…
Last week’s dispute over Internet access for foreign reporters is still reverberating, only partially resolved. More Web sites have become available to reporters inside the Olympic Games’ Main Press Center and around the country, although plenty remain blocked (those perceived as being backed by the Falun Gong and those supporting Tibetan independence most notably). Amnesty…
The media is in the news. The official Xinhua News Agency chimes in on the fracas over Web access for foreign journalists in the Olympic press center. In a commentary headlined “Do not let ‘press freedom’ supersede Chinese law” Xinhua defends the government’s policy of blocking sensitive Web sites, repeating the justification Games spokesman Sun…
Facing massive outcry over Internet restrictions at the Olympic press center, the International Olympic Committee says it met today with Beijing organizers and that “the issues were put on the table.” In a statement issued this afternoon, the IOC says it has not made any deal that allows Internet restrictions to be imposed at the Main…
With the Olympics preparations crowding the headlines, news related to the deadly May earthquake in Sichuan province has faded. There is still plenty to report, including the recovery effort and the bitter resentment of grieving parents who believe that faulty construction played a role in their children’s deaths. But a search of recent Chinese news on the quake…
Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday stressed the importance of a secure Olympics, calling the responsibility as heavy as Mount Tai. But while Chinese media today reported on the new checkpoints guarding access to Tiananmen Square, no mention was made of a security measure on the minds of many visiting journalists. Olympic officials today admitted that…
A report on human rights violations in China is being ignored in the government-controlled media. Human rights organization Amnesty International reported that China has failed to keep Olympic-related promises regarding the treatment of its citizens. The report highlights China’s high number of death penalty cases. Neither central nor provincial media cover the report today. But a handful of bloggers do.…
We begin our Olympic coverage today with the first installment of CPJ’s Chinese Media Watch. CPJ consultant Kristin Jones will analyze news coverage in China each weekday until the Games conclude. Jones will assess the level to which the Chinese media are able to freely report the news, and the amount of government censorship being…
Local Chinese journalists beat central government media to the scene of another bus explosion in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming. Today’s explosion followed bus bomb blasts that killed two people in Kunming last week. Expect the official Xinhua News Agency to take over from here. Chinese officials have played down claims of responsibility for…