No Bad News: South China Media Guidance for

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUANGZHOU 000519 STATE FOR EAP/CM AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 25X1 - Human TAGS: PHUM KPAO ECPS PROP PGOV CH SUBJECT: No Bad News: South China Media Guidance for October National Anniversary ¶1. (U) Classified by Consul General Brian L. Goldbeck for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: In Guangdong, propaganda officers have begun preparations for the 60-year anniversary of the People's Republic of China by instructing local news outlets not to reprint articles from four Guangzhou and Beijing-based newspapers, some of which are known for their bold reporting. Media web portals have been told to eliminate links from their home page to stories unflattering to the Communist Party or government, but have not yet been required to purge the content from other areas of their websites. Authorities continue to pressure local staff of foreign media outlets to refrain from reporting on "sensitive" issues. If authorities follow the same pattern used for the Tiananmen Square anniversary, these restrictions might be eased in October following the national day festivities. END SUMMARY. Articles from Certain Papers Off-Limits -------------- ¶3. (C) In anticipation of the celebrations surrounding the October 1, 2009, 60-year anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Propaganda Department officials in Guangdong have warned news outlets not to reprint articles from four newspapers deemed particularly sensitive: Southern Metropolis (Nanfang Dushi Bao), Southern Weekend (Nanfang Zhoumo),Beijing News (Xinjing Bao) and Beijing Times (Jinghua Shibao),according to South China Morning Post Guangzhou Correspondent Ivan Zhai (protect). Zhai, who is a locally hired journalist working for the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, speculated that the goal of the instruction was to contain the spread of any critical or unfavorable stories published by these papers. (Comment: Southern Metropolis and Southern Weekend are known for testing censors' limits, for which editors have been fired in the past. Beijing News, though technically Party controlled, has also had its share of political trouble, even leading to the dismissal of editors. It is unclear why Beijing Times would be included in the ban, since it is run by the Party-controlled People's Daily (Renmin Ribao). End comment.) ¶4. (C) Likewise, managers of media web portals have been encouraged to eliminate potentially sensitive reporting from website home pages, according to Zhai. The content does not necessarily have to be eliminated from the site, but should not be accessible from the first page, he said. Zhai estimated that up to 30% of some new-media home pages is devoted to content that would likely be deemed "sensitive" by authorities. Tea with the Police, Again -------------- ¶5. (C) Two police officers compelled Zhai to have dinner with them in late August, where they told Zhai that he "should stay away from any sensitive stories" in the run- up to the October national day celebrations. Without elaborating, one of the officers also encouraged Zhai to "do something for [his] country," which Zhai interpreted as an appeal to write particularly favorable articles about the government and Communist Party. Zhai noted to Poloff that the last time he had been "invited" to dine with authorities was several weeks prior to the 2009 anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident, when similar restrictions were instituted. ¶6. (C) Zhai said that generally only local Chinese staff of foreign media outlets receives such personal attention from the authorities. Staff at domestic media outlets receives instruction from the Propaganda Department via their editors, he said, while foreign press services without any local staff would escape this type of police pressure entirely. Restrictions Only Temporary? -------------- ¶7. (C) Zhai said he had perceived some relaxation of official media control following comparable tightening that took place in anticipation of the June 4 anniversary of Tiananmen Square. He speculated that, similarly, the current restrictions would only be enforced until October, at which point pressure would once again be loosened. Zhai joked that September might prove to be a quiet month of "no news" if authorities have their druthers. GOLDBECK