VIOLENCE AGAINST REPORTERS, SIDE EFFECT OF GROWING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 004901

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2022
TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: VIOLENCE AGAINST REPORTERS, SIDE EFFECT OF GROWING
MEDIA POWER

REF: A. FBIS CPP20070707050001


B. BEIJING 4236

Classified By: Acting Political Minister-Counselor Ben
Moeling. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Since the January death of a reporter at an
illegal coal mine in Shanxi, China's media is becoming
more aggressive in publicizing attacks against
journalists, according to Embassy contacts. The July
4 beating of a reporter by county-level officials in
Xiji, Ningxia has generated interest in journalism
circles because of the atypically strong response of
the local Communist Party Committee, which quickly
suspended the official responsible and ordered a
written apology from the officials to the reporter's
newspaper. Clashes between journalists and local
officials and business people are on the rise this
year, according to one contact. Another journalist
told us that, while she finds such attacks on her
colleagues disturbing, they actually reflect the
growing power of China's press. End summary.

Beating Draws (Rare) Apology
--------------


2. (SBU) The Construction and Environmental Protection
Bureau in Xiji County, Ningxia issued a written
apology to the Xin Xiaoxi newspaper (a local paper
affiliated with the Ningxia Daily) July 5 following
the beating of a Xin Xiaoxi reporter by Bureau
employees the previous day (Ref A). While such a
written apology from a government agency is rare,
journalist contacts tell us, violent attacks on
reporters are common in China today. In addition to
the July 4 beating in Xiji, other incidents include:

--the January 10 fatal beating of Lan Chengzhang, a
freelancer for the Zhongguo Maoyi Bao (China Trade
News),at an illegal coal mine in Shanxi Province;

--the February 7 assault by security guards on a
Guangxi Television reporter who was investigating
allegations of wage arrears at a local land
development company; and,

--the May 3, 2006 beating (also by security guards) of
a China Central Television (CCTV) crew investigating
an accident at the "Windows of the World" tourist site
in Changsha, Hunan.


3. (SBU) While the death of Lan Chengzhang gained
widespread international attention, the Xiji case is
much more typical of the day-to-day challenges
journalists face, particularly when they find
themselves on the wrong side of local officials or
business interests. According to one press account,
the Xiji incident began June 30 when Gao Zhirong, the
deputy head of the county-level Construction and
Environmental Protection Bureau, detained a woman for
allowing her child to relieve himself on a city
street. Angry over the allegedly illegal three-hour
detention and RMB 400 (USD 50) fine, the woman
complained to a Xin Xiaoxi reporter. When the
journalist attempted July 4 to interview Gao about the
incident, he was surrounded and beaten by ten of Gao's
underlings. The county Party Committee later
suspended Gao and ordered Gao's boss to issue an
apology.

Preventative Strike
--------------


4. (C) Zhou Qingan (strictly protect),a freelance
journalist and Professor at Qinghua University, told
Poloff that violence against reporters is a growing
concern. Noting that nearly all incidents of
violence involve reporters covering local stories,
Zhou said the beating of journalists is part of a much
wider problem of lawlessness, corruption, and lack of
official accountability in small-town China. Local
cadres or business owners, Zhou said, attempt to
physically intimidate journalists in order to nip any
negative reporting in the bud. Local officials know
that once a story makes it into print and onto the
Internet, beating up the reporter responsible will
only serve to draw more unwanted attention. Zhou said
the problem is not restricted to local newspapers and
television stations. As the beating of the CCTV crew

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in Changsha last year indicates, journalists from
major national media outlets are not immune from such
attacks. CCTV camera crews, Zhou said, are roughed up
on an increasingly regular basis.

The "Silver Lining"
--------------


5. (C) Zhang Shensi (strictly protect),International
Editor for the Legal Daily, said China's media is
becoming more aggressive about publicizing attacks on
journalists. Zhang acknowledged that corruption
within her own profession, i.e. journalists seeking
bribes in exchange for spiking negative stories, has
created a more antagonistic atmosphere for reporters.
The silver lining, Zhang said, is that such physical
intimidation reflects the growing power of the news
media. In the past, Zhang said, local cadres and
business leaders had little to fear from China's
tightly controlled press. Now, China's media enjoys
increasing freedom to report bad news, to the chagrin
of local officials who find themselves facing popular
anger and official inquiry as a result of negative
stories. For example, Zhang cited the recent
disclosure of slave labor used at brick kilns in
Shanxi and Henan Provinces. A local Henan television
station broke the story, which has had national
repercussions (Ref B). Zhang also noted that a
growing gap exists between central and local
government attitudes towards journalists. Though some
topics remain off-limits, Zhang said, the central
government is gradually giving the Chinese press a
freer reign. Local officials, by contrast, continue
to view the media according to the old model under
which journalists were always subservient to party and
government officials.
PICCUTA