Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BEIJING1096
2009-04-23 10:50:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

FOREIGN MEDIA PRESSURED TO COMPLY WITH CODE OF

Tags:  PROP PGOV PREL PHUM CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7176
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #1096/01 1131050
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231050Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3631
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 001096 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2029
TAGS: PROP PGOV PREL PHUM CH
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MEDIA PRESSURED TO COMPLY WITH CODE OF
CONDUCT FOR CHINESE STAFF

Classified By: Political Internal Unit Chief
Dan Kritenbrink. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 001096

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2029
TAGS: PROP PGOV PREL PHUM CH
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MEDIA PRESSURED TO COMPLY WITH CODE OF
CONDUCT FOR CHINESE STAFF

Classified By: Political Internal Unit Chief
Dan Kritenbrink. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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


1. (C) The Chinese Government issued a new "code of
conduct" for PRC staff working at foreign news
bureaus on February 13, and although the code
largely repeats existing prohibitions on independent
news gathering by Chinese assistants, authorities
are now enforcing these rules with increased vigor.
The Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions,
an arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that
manages hiring of PRC staff by foreign news
organizations, recently forced all assistants to
attend a briefing and sign a form promising to abide
by the code, which also requires them to portray a
"positive" image of China to their employers. While
several assistants with whom we spoke said they
would ignore the rules and continue to conduct de
facto independent reporting, an American journalist
told us some of her local assistants are now
reticent to do reporting work. At least one U.S.
news organization has already been called to task
for violating the code and, in response, has decided
to stop sending local staff to cover news events
alone while also adding a foreign journalist's
byline to any piece penned by a Chinese employee.
End Summary.

"Code of Conduct" Issued for News Assistants
--------------


2. (SBU) On February 13, the Beijing Service Bureau
for Diplomatic Missions (DSB),an organization under
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that manages
employment of Chinese nationals by foreign embassies
and news bureaus, issued a "code of conduct" for
local assistants working at foreign media
organizations. On February 13 and 14, according to
several contacts, the DSB called two meetings, each
session including approximately 200 news assistants,
to explain the code. Point four of the code states
that, "Chinese employees should only do assistant
work.... They must not interview or report
independently." Point six requires PRC staff to
"actively provide their organizations and foreign
reporters with source materials that promote Chinese

history and culture and a positive image of China."
The code warns PRC staff against "spreading rumors"
or reading or duplicating "reactionary" books or
videos. Assistants who violate the rules by
conducting their own reporting risk termination of
their employment contracts. (Note: When a foreign
news bureau hires a PRC national, the Chinese
citizen must then register with the DSB, technically
becoming a DSB employee. Foreign media are not
allowed to employ local staff outside the DSB
system, though some still do so on a "temporary"
basis. Staff not registered with the DSB, however,
have difficulty obtaining credentials for major
events such as the National People's Congress.)


3. (U) In a March 4 statement, the Foreign
Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) said it was
"appalled" by the new restrictions on news
assistants and called on authorities to scrap the
code of conduct. As a result of the new code, the
FCCC said, organizers of the March 3-12 session of
the National People's Congress, in contrast to past
practice, refused to approve interview requests from
properly accredited assistants. Human Rights Watch
similarly denounced the code of conduct in a March
18 press release.

Many Assistants Unconcerned
--------------


4. (C) News assistants interviewed by EmbOff
generally brushed off the new "code of conduct." Du
Juan (strictly protect),an assistant at the
Financial Times, told EmbOff March 30 that the code
was "no big deal" and most assistants, including
herself, would continue to conduct de facto
independent reporting. Du, who attended the
February 13 DSB briefing, said at the end of the
meeting all assistants were forced to sign a
statement, to be appended to their DSB employment
contracts, stating that they promised to abide by
the new code. Du said she initially refused but

BEIJING 00001096 002 OF 003


relented after being told she would not be allowed
to leave the room until she signed. Echoing Du's
comments, three PRC staff members of the New York
Times (protect) told EmbOff March 26 that the rules
would not impact their work. An American reporter
for Public Radio International (protect),however,
told EmbOff March 26 that "some assistants felt
intimidated" following release of the code and some,
particularly those with fewer years on the job, were
reticent to do certain kinds of reporting work.
More seasoned assistants, however, were more likely
to ignore the new code, she said. Jon Watts
(protect),President of the FCCC and a correspondent
for the Guardian, said on March 27 that while the
new code merely repeated existing regulations, what
was different this time was the alacrity with which
authorities were suddenly enforcing the rules.
Still, Watts expressed hope that conditions for
assistants would "return to normal" after a few
months.

Bloomberg Warned
--------------


5. (C) Though many assistants with whom we spoke
seemed unconcerned by the code of conduct, the MFA
has called at least one news organization to task
for violating prohibitions on reporting by local
staff. Tang Rui, director of the Europe, North
America and Oceania Division of the MFA's
Information Department, reportedly called in
Bloomberg's Beijing Bureau Chief Eugene Tang
(protect) April 8 to warn the news service to stop
employing PRC nationals as journalists. According
to an internal Bloomberg memo obtained by EmbOff,
Tang Rui complained that Bloomberg had sent PRC
staff to cover the March session of the National
People's Congress without being accompanied by
Bloomberg's foreign journalists. Solo attendance at
news events by local assistants was against the
rules, Tang Rui reportedly said. The MFA official
also noted that Bloomberg had again broken
regulations by applying for "journalist" credentials
for local staff to cover the April 17-19 Bo'ao Forum
in Hainan Province.


6. (C) According to Bloomberg's account of the
meeting, Tang Rui also criticized statements by the
Foreign Correspondent's Club of China (FCCC) and
Human Rights Watch opposing the new code of conduct
for news assistants. (Note: Eugene Tang is
Secretary of the FCCC.) Bloomberg, Tang Rui
concluded, was "willfully" breaking China's rules
and must cease and desist. When Eugene Tang asked
why the MFA was singling out Bloomberg, Tang Rui
reportedly said the rules apply to all foreign news
bureaus and the MFA was merely "starting with"
Bloomberg. In response to the MFA's warning,
Bloomberg asked Bo'ao organizers to change the
accreditation language for their local staff from
"journalist" to "PRC staff." The news service, the
memo states, would no longer send local employees to
cover events alone and would add a foreign
journalist's name to the byline of any story written
by PRC employees.


7. (C) As of April 23, Bloomberg appeared to be the
only major wire service to receive such a warning.
A Reuters journalist (protect) told us April 10 that
Reuters management believed that Bloomberg was, in
fact, being singled out, and so far Reuters had not
been impacted by the code of conduct. Meanwhile, an
Associated Press correspondent (protect) said that,
given the more restrictive atmosphere for
assistants, the AP has started to encourage its
local staff not to register with the DSB. Los
Angeles Times Bureau Chief Barbara Demick (protect)
said March 24 that she and her lone local assistant
"ignore" DSB-issued edicts in the hope that "they
will go away." So far, Demick reported, the LA
Times has not experienced any difficulties with the
DSB or MFA.

Comment
--------------


8. (C) If the warning recently given to Bloomberg is
any indication, the Chinese Government is
selectively enforcing the "code of conduct" while
also putting the impetus largely on foreign news
bureaus, rather than on their assistants, to respect

BEIJING 00001096 003 OF 003


the rules on local staff. Many contacts believe the
tighter restrictions on assistants are related to
the sensitive anniversaries taking place in 2009,
including the 20th anniversary of the June 4
Tiananmen crackdown. Most foreign journalists with
whom we spoke about the code expect enforcement to
slacken after a few months. Nonetheless, tough
application of these restrictions, however
temporary, could seriously hamper the work of
foreign journalists, since many rely heavily on
their Chinese staff to gather news.
PICCUTA