SOUTHWEST CHINA: LOCAL SCHOLAR ON TIANANMEN ANNIVERSARY AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000099

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/4/2034
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO SOCI CH
SUBJECT: SOUTHWEST CHINA: LOCAL SCHOLAR ON TIANANMEN ANNIVERSARY AND
MEDIA CONTROLS

CHENGDU 00000099 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General, Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: Indicating that controls over media in Sichuan
Province have notably increased over the past year, a
senior-level Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences (SASS)
researcher described how Communist Party officials applied
additional pressure on him and other independent website editors
to regulate postings in the "sensitive period" leading up to the
June 4 Tiananmen anniversary. According to our contact, a May
30 article posted on a website founded by detained Sichuan
activist Huang Qi accurately describes methods to control
dissidents in preparation for June 4. The researcher commented
he is optimistic about the online community's skill at
eventually finding ways around new controls. End summary.


2. (C) Congenoff met recently with a researcher (protect) in the
SASS Institute of News and Broadcasting who has been a longtime
contact of the Consulate. The researcher was already working at
SASS in 1989 and became involved in what he referred to as "the
movement," subsequently finding his career prospects
significantly diminished. Currently operating a website on
which he posts his own writings as well as numerous other
articles and items related to media issues, the researcher
described how local authorities regularly notify him when they
consider particular items on the website to be inappropriate and
request that he remove them, which he does.


3. (C) According to the researcher, three different
organizations contact him about his website's content: the
Sichuan CCP Propaganda Department, the section of the Public
Security Bureau (PSB) that handles the Internet, and a
Communication Affairs (tongxun shiwu) office. He maintains
contact with media scholars in Taiwan and Hong Kong, at times
posting material from them, but notes his e-mail communications
often do not go through. When he has a particularly sensitive
piece he wants to post, he does not highlight it on his homepage
but buries it elsewhere on the site in order to at least delay
the subsequent requests for removal. He emphasized that he is
not trying to be "anti-government," but rather is simply
promoting an open forum for discussion on media development.

Tightened Controls
--------------


4. (C) Discussing recent trends, the scholar noted an overall
increase in central control over reporting on political issues
and a corresponding decline in the "reputation" of the media.
Responding to a question about the openness of Sichuan's media
relative to media in Guangdong Province, the researcher noted
that several years ago Sichuan media had been more open and
willing to write controversial stories, but now the scope of
coverage in Sichuan has narrowed. Control over the media has
increased considerably during the past year, both in Sichuan and
more widely throughout China, with the impetus coming from the
very top of the political system. Restrictions on reporting on
economic issues, however, are an exception in that they seem
less than previously.


5. (C) In light of growing official assertion of media controls
in 2009, the researcher does not see many prospects for Sichuan
mainstream media to become more open. He highlighted, however,
the role that media in south China, such as Nanfang Zhoumo
(Southern Weekend),can play in serving as a potential model.
(Note: According to some of our local press contacts, one
example of tighter controls in recent years was an early 2008
order from the central government closing the "international
departments" of all Sichuan television stations and requiring
them to rely on the national wire service (Xinhua) for coverage
of almost any story with a foreign angle. Some contacts have
told us that interviews involving foreign nationals are
sometimes done just for "practice," as final approval to air
such stories is always a big question mark. End note).


6. (C) The researcher remains optimistic, nevertheless, about
the trend toward free information exchange in the broader media
environment. He emphasized the Internet is where most cutting
edge material on media issues and other sensitive topics gets
published, particularly on academic sites. Many more opinions
are being expressed these days, including political satire and
other critiques, even if it is not showing up in traditional
print media. The Internet is leading traditional media due to
the tight restrictions remaining on the latter. The researcher
emphasized the relative freedom of publication on the Internet,
despite frequent deletion of posted content.


7. (C) The researcher described a meeting he was recently

CHENGDU 00000099 002.2 OF 002


required to attend, along with other independent website
editors, where local Party officials instructed them to submit
all materials to their "superiors" for review prior to posting.
He did not know whether the orders to call the meeting came from
provincial or national level Party organs. Acknowledging that
the meeting was likely connected to the Tiananmen 20th
anniversary, the researcher said he would not agree to follow
the new instructions. He emphasized his site is his own private
independent effort, and that it would be inappropriate for his
SASS bosses to get involved in editing its contents. Further,
implementation would likely prove both impractical and
burdensome. He does not believe other website editors are
following the policy either. The researcher continues to remove
material when asked, but noted there had been no specific follow
up by Party officials following the meeting.


8. (C) Commenting on broader policies to control information
dissemination related to June 4, the researcher emphasized the
ongoing long-term back and forth between government measures and
skillful "netizens," with the latter always finding a way around
new controls. He remarked that a May 30 article posted on the
independent website 64tianwang, "As June 4 approaches, the
secrets of the CCP's new measures to monitor dissidents is
revealed," describes accurately for the most part control
strategies utilized by government authorities.

Note on 64tianwang
--------------


9. (SBU) The site 64tianwang was founded by Huang Qi, a
Sichuan-based human rights activist arrested in June 2008 for
reportedly assisting parents investigating school collapses
during the earthquake. Huang Qi remains in detention, and
64tianwang.com is currently hosted overseas and blocked in
China. Some of the specific measures allegedly in use, as
described in the above-referenced article, include the closing
down of all university-affiliated "baidu tiebas" (online
user-run search-based forums at Baidu.com) in late May;
deploying student Party members to spy on instructors; closing
down selected sensitive websites and increasing management of
postings at others; strengthened text messaging and phone
conversation monitoring using newly developed keyword and voice
recognition software; use of new web blocking technologies that
weaken proxy server capacity; and the use of viruses distributed
via e-mails from senders posing as friends in order to access
activists' e-mail boxes.
BOUGHNER