October 2005 Investigation : Gautier Battistella and Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders International Secretariat 5, rue Geoffroy Marie 75009 Paris-France Tél. (33) 1 44 83 84 84 Fax (33) 1 45 23 11 51 E-mail : [email protected] Web : www.rsf.org

Thanks to: Michel Wu as well as the large number of agency staff who agreed to be interviewed CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency in thefi modernisation isverysuperfi modernisation interests oftheChineseCommunistParty. Its an organ ofpropaganda intheserviceof French service,showsthattheagencyremains Games, indefi will guaranteethesuccessoftheseOlympic nalist whoworkedfortwoyears porters WithoutBorders andaFrench jour- This investigationreport, puttogetherbyRe- news. 300 oninternal newsand ports aday-700oninternational visibility( cies. ItshugeInternet newsagen- same levelasotherinternational for exampleoftenpicksupitsreports –onthe by someasacredible media-GoogleNews The world’s largest newsagencyisnowseen power in1949. Chinese CommunistParty(CPP)sinceittook and disinformationsystemestablishedbythe T ing ofthePeople’s RepublicofChinain Octo- current nameinJanuary1937.Afterthefound- province ofJiangxi.Theagency adoptedits was foundedinRuijinDistrict intheeastern 2001. Itsforerunner, theagencyRedChina, Xinhua Xinhua media withoutthesay-soofall-powerful pecially onsensitiveissues,shouldreach the and distributioninthecountry. Nonews,es- the defactolargest centre ofnewsgathering tion, “theeyes,earsandvoiceofChina”.Itis monopoly. Itis,according totheoffi Xinhua Xinhua has allowed distribution ofitsreports inmanycountries, puts outnewsinsevenlanguages)andfree Xinhua working fortheoffi On theotherhand,thousandsofjournalists working inChina. rules imposedfordecadesontheforeign press event. Theywillhavetocomplywiththestrict capital tocoverthelargest sports international around theworldwillpourintoChinese fromarrive inBeijing.Thousandsofjournalists hree yearsfrom now, theOlympicfl news. eld ofinternational currently diffuses more than1,000re- remains atthe heartofthecensorship hasmarkedits70thanniversary in . ’s goalistomaintaintheCCP’s news Xinhua ance oftransparency. Infact, cial tobecomeamajorplayer Xinhua News Agency News Xinhua cial. Xinhuanet.com Xinhuanet.com cial defi cial amewill Xinhua ni- ’s ’s

lice”. and offi proud ofthefactthatit“possesses”branches ber 1949, let fortheCCP’s propaganda toChina’s media. Since itwasfounded,becamethemainout- ment. totally subordinate totheCCPandgovern- jing andthenationalistisland. dents ofcontributingto“discord” betweenBei- According tooffi The world’s biggest newsagency news. national andinternational and 9038periodicals)withallmajoritemsof stations, 369TV2119newspapers Xinhua in April2005afteraccusing in Taiwan, untiltheauthoritiesinTaipei closedit fi well asinHongKongandMacao.There are of- Xinhua tries andeightsub-offi ing issaid,nothing islistenedtoandnothing far astheChinesemediamarket goes,noth- tography andsoon...)Despite privatisation,as ety ofsubjects(rurallife,economy, sports,pho- that putsout40publications devotedtoavari- formation centre.” ment, theonlinenewsdepartmentandin- news department,thebroadcast newsdepart- department,thesports the photo-journalism seas clients,thereference newsdepartment, ment, thenationalnewsdepartmentforover- newsdepart- department, theinternational wumenxidajie. Itconsistsof“thenationalnews The “headquarters”isinBeijing,at57,Xuan- national branches. (its offi broken upintothree parts:“theheadquarters” The agency’s newsgatheringandhandlingis Shengrong, CaiMingzhaoandHeDongjun. and fourvice-presidents, ZhangBaoshun,Ma supported byeditor-in-chief, NanZhenzhong Congming, hastherankofaminister. Heis are andeditors.Itspresident, journalists Tian contrast hasastaff of2,000)whom1,900 ploys 8,400people.(AgenceFrance-Presse by But in bothPyongyangandRangoon. the rare foreign mediatohaveacorrespondent Paris, MoscowandRiodeJaneiro. Itisoneof Hong Kong,NewYork, Mexico,Nairobi, Cairo, ces inaround 50Chinesecitiesandabureau Xinhua Xinhua cial name),nationalbranchesandinter- provides allmedia(atleast306radio alsohasbranchesin31provinces, as ces inthearmedChinese People’s Po- Xinhua isalsoaboveallamedia empire alsohasbranchesin105coun- ca fi cial becameastate-runagency, ces oreditorialoffi gures, theagencyem- Xinhua Xinhua correspon- isalso ces in ces 2 CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency only, toall. standsasawarning out areport consumption intendedforinternal dismissedforputting of anagencyjournalist, these rulesneedstowatchout.Themisfortune agency.the governmental Anyone whodefi is seeninChinawithouttheprioragreement of media haveto demonstratetheyare biddable. and puttingoutdomesticnews tothenational nalists whowillresponsible laterforrevising tions are considered tobemore political.Jour- domestic newsisheldseparately. Theseposi- The recruitment for examinationforjournalists iners spokegoodEnglish”. was whathappenedtome.Noneoftheexam- department.“That dition totheinternational thelatestad- said oneyoungfemalejournalist, ”The interviewoftenlastsonlyoneminute”, Xinhua Whydoyouwanttoworkfor be ajournalist? always thesameones:“Whydidyoudecideto ing himselfandthenreplies to twoquestions, language. Thecandidatebeginsbyintroduc- English or, lesscommonly, inanotherforeign branch, theinterviewusuallytakesplacein For thosestudentsseekingworkinaforeign more than100candidates. a smallgroup ofexaminersfrequently interview The oralresembles araceagainstthe clockas ation oftheirculture andideologicalorientation. didates’ generalknowledge,allowinganevalu- The writtenpaperconsistsofatestthecan- an interview. city andtheexams,withawrittenpaper andnationalsectionstoeach of international agency sendsadelegationmadeupofheads based intheseprovinces. EveryNovemberthe country’s most prestigious universitiesare also province), where theagencyhasoffi ies: Beijing,ShanghaiandNankin(inJiangsu Entrance examsare heldinthree Chinesecit- attheserviceofsoleparty.journalist ing” toinculcatetheprofessional valuesofa dergo regular sessionsof“ideologicalupdat- good word. Inthefi the Party, sincetheyare required tospread the students atuniversity–andtheirobedienceto both fortheirability–theyare oftenthebest Candidatesaretial agencyjournalists. selected Students are targeted from thestartaspoten- The recruitment The Xinhua’s ?” journalists rst yearsoftrainingtheyun- cs The ces. es demeanour of isfactory results. It’s instructivetowatchthe This indoctrinationdoesproduce highlysat- rarely outactuallyreporting. dents are tobefoundthroughout theworldbut tations’ ofJiangZemin,andcourseabout ing China,thetheoryof‘Three Represen- talk aboutpolitics,therulesandlawsgovern- method ofgettingtakenonby Nepotism howeverremains themostreliable ganisations. student leadersorpresidents ofcommunistor- students, membersoftheCCPYouth League, and there isanaturalpreference forpoliticised They needtoshowtheirloyaltytheparty telling usaboutthepoliticalnature of during seminarsofthistype,theyneverstop nalism, butasoneofthempointedout,“Even are thetechniquesofjour- supposedtolearn indoctrination seminars,theyoungstudents Onthesidelinesofthese one youngjournalist. Xinhua ”During theseseminars,leading sists of“civilandideologicalteaching”. According totheChinesedescription,itcon- Shan, adistrictinthesoutheastofcapital. recruits lastingaboutthree weeks,inFang Xinhua Indoctrination reporting inthefi wretchedjournalists’ lackofabilitytocarryout The importanceofideologyisincontrastwith Xinhua ask onlyfavourable questionsandapplaud the conferences givenbyChinese offi person’s nameisinstantaneous. of theirwrittenexam.Recruitmentbasedona fi of- sons, cousinsornephewsofagovernment they havetoobeyandtheirobligationstowards abroad inwhichtheyare reminded oftherules a fewmonthsbefore are youngjournalists sent The otherimportantpartofthetrainingcomes organisational capacity”. “theimportanceofsolidarityand has tolearn involves gamesthrough whicheachmember The physicaleducationpartoftheprogramme an articleortogetinformation.” everyday workbutnothingabouthowtowrite as welltheessentialrole ofpoliticsinour “China’s secondembassy”, one Chinesecorrespondent inParisdubbed cial havenoneedtoworryabouttheresults , mouthpiece of the government” recalls, mouthpieceofthegovernment” holdsayearlytrainingsessionfornew . Xinhua eld. Stuck in theiroffi journalists duringpress journalists Xinhua Xinhua Xinhua correspon- cas They cials. ces, that ces, staffers Xinhua . The 3 , CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency league. the agency’s are journalists marriedtoacol- whosaidthatmorejournalist, thanhalfof ment, bosses ortospeeduptheircareer advance- fi members oftheCCP, according tointernal Almost 80%oftheagency’s are journalists in imposingthereunifi whenhesaidthatChina“fearsnoone ernment the fi “You, watched, especiallywhentheyare abroad. moral lapse.Young are journalists veryclosely tobepunishedfora not unusualforajournalist interest initsemployees’personallives.Itis remarks madebyoffi remain reporting. Theactivitiesofthetopleadership and companiessoastoneverneedgoout many releases from ministries,Partyorgans following nationalnewsare inundatedwith so workinginBeijing,responsibleJournalists for has workedfortheagencyfi to theoriginalsource”, who saidonejournalist hand andweneverhavethetimetogoback pointofview.a journalistic Thenewsissecond local media(…)It’s hardly verysatisfyingfrom public. Thesearticlesare thenpublishedinthe make themavailabletotheChinesegeneral and articlespublishedintheforeign press to ”In Beijing,Ihavetotranslateandeditreports The workofjournalistsinBeijing ber 2004EU-Chinasummit,a For theagency, “newsfl crets –isincreasingly inevidence onthe – recently removed from thelistofstatese- occur intheregions. Newsaboutdisasters port unionissuesandnatural disastersthat throughout thecountry. Theyalsohavetore- supposed tocloselyfollowpublicpolitics capital, correspondents intheprovinces are Even more basedinthe thanthejournalists formation. ences” remain oneofthemajorsources ofin- from andoffi thegovernment Even more surprisingly, that feedsthem. reporter’s dedication. minister Wen Jiabaoappeared pleasedatthe ed Beijing’s stanceonTaiwan. Chineseprime stood uptomakesure thattheEUsupport- hua gures. Eitherthrough conviction,fearoftheir wires. Howeverriotsandstrikes mostlygo rst tostandandapplaudtheheadofgov- Xinhua Xinhua Xinhua andyourwife”jokesoneyoung journalists are journalists faithfultothehand ’s highestpriority. cation with Taiwan.”with cation cials. DuringaDecem- Xinhua ashes andinformation Xinhua cial press confer-press cial journalists were journalists Xinhua ve years. ve takesakeen journalist journalist Xin- vides aninsightintoasignifi mented ironically. Thissuccinctanalysispro- Internet connectionsareInternet ararityin Geneva. most covetedpostssuchasParis,Brusselsor quarters inBeijing.Theycanthenapplytothe make dowiththe do nothaveadirect connectionandhaveto remains tightlycontrolled. still Mostjournalists agency’s bureaux atthestartof2003,Web fi can lookat If youare interested inhowitispresented, you “If youwanttogetthelatestnews,goAFP. Work ofjournalistsabroad whom theyreplace thenreturn to ment. Theyare appointedfortwoyears.Those told theirexactdestinationuntilthelastmo- the Spanishsectionandsoon.Theyare not rica fortheFrench section,SouthAmericafor which sectiontheyhavebeenworkingfor. Af- country theyare senttoobviouslydependson arejing, youngjournalists sentabroad. The After twoyearsworkingfortheagencyinBei- Party bosses. reference” andgodirectly totheoffi unreported. Thesereports are marked“internal Lama. massacre, activitiesofFalungongortheDalai on subjectssuchastheTiananmenSquare to mostChinese,iscensored whenitreports news.Thewebsite,inaccessible international cal prisoners. San SuuKyiandthethousands ofotherpoliti- the plightofNobelPeace Prize winnerAung put outbythemilitaryjunta but nevermentions reau systematicallytakesthe exultantreleases countries friendlytoChina. TheRangoonbu- correspondents lapupthe offi tries towhichtheyhavebeenposted. TVanddomesticofthecoun- international agency’s spendtheirdaysgluedto journalists So asnottomissmajornews,mostofthe plained one story, evenifwegettheinformationfi virtually impossibletobethefi “Given ourlackoffundsandequipment,itis regime’s politicalorientation. it summarises,oftenclumsily, andmixinginthe agencies orarticlesfrom thelocalpress, which itself topickingupreports from international the meansnordesire todoso.Itconfi never attheoriginofinformation.Ithasneither hua ces. Althoughtheywere introduced intothe : Asfarasforeign newsgoes,theagencyis Xinhua Xinhua BBC World Service World BBC ”, one Asian journalist com- ”, oneAsianjournalist correspondent. cant feature of cial releases of rst tobreak a Xinhua ces ofthe Xinhua tofollow rst,” ex- rst,” Xinhua head- 4 nes Xin- of-

CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency cide, you doit”. try, canalso send ministries, particularlytheforeign affairs minis- under theCCPCentralCommittee.Thevarious named thePublicityDepartment,thatcomes produced bythePropaganda Department,now The agency’s fi this ubiquitoussurveillance. bourhoods). Thestrength oftheCCPrests on a Partycell(justasinthefactoriesandneigh- Party committee.Eachsectioniscontrolled by rial board are thesameasthoseofagency hard toseparate.Themembersoftheedito- tration andthepartyare soalikethattheyare The Propaganda Departmentcontrols up andsenttothecountry’s variousmedia. by apartystructure. At China. Eachadministrativebodyisreplicated double systemappliestoeverystructure in only superfi the regime leaders.Thegeneralpublicreceives for thegeneralpublicandnewsdestined cy produces twotypesofnews:thatintended In theserviceofcommunistparty, theagen- and da Department Propagan- the Relations between out by the international department. out bytheinternational Chinese publicconsumption,thantothoseput department giventhattheirreports are forthe pays closerattentiontothedomesticnews It appearsthatthePropaganda Department fl war inIraqandmore recently incasesofbird particularly closeduringtheSarsepidemic, to newsevents.Itsmonitoringof dates ormodifi The Propaganda Departmentfrequently up- gion ofTibet”andsoon.. wan”, “Taiwanese ofChina”,“autonomousre- to describeplaces,“Chineseprovince ofTai- Problems ofsyntaxariseorthecorrect way efi ortheCCP,member ofthegovernment ben- be acaseofgeneralideas(banoncriticising before beingreleased forpublication.Itcould criteria number ofideologicalandjournalistic reporting. Eacharticleorreport hastofulfi hua u. ting countriesthatare “friends”ofChina. , defi ning theorientationandsubjectsof cial anddistortednews.Thesame rst priorityistohandlenews es itsinstructions inrelation Xinhua newsthatispicked Xinhua Xinhua theadminis- Xinhua : “Ide- was Xin- l a l Tao, alsoa cast ontelevisiononeweek later. Wu’s wife,Ma CCP Congress. Thesamespeech wasbroad- min wasduetogiveafewdays lateratthe14th the “traitors”are namedand in HongKongorTaiwan. Iftheyare unmasked, reports are leakedandmakeitintothepress fi tion aftertheseizure oftheirlandare classi- ers, dissatisfi reports abouttheunrest amongpeasantfarm- by thewords reference”. “internal Currently all inform themaboutthereal situation,indicated sent toalimitedcircle oftopleaderssoasto “pulled” reports are notactuallydeletedbut lungong, itisveryunlikelytobeputout.These as relations between ChinaandTaiwan, orFa- If thestoryisaboutasensitivesubject,such Department. ing tothecriterialaiddownbyPropaganda put themonthewire, afterchecking,accord- back totheheadsofsection,whodecide the foreign experts correct them,thentheygo stories, theeditor-translators translatethem, Heads ofsectioninthisdepartmentselectthe Chi- the for (news department news Domestic News output cused ofsendingacolleagueonthedaily well aslossofhispoliticalrights.Hewasac- 1993 for“divulgingstatesecrets abroad” as sentenced tolifeimprisonmenton30August political service, was withtheinternal journalist the agencyandthusParty. Wu Shishen,a en harshprisonsentencesforhavingbetrayed Xinhua Some offi reference reports.” istoread they doeachmorning theinternal longer read theoffi said, “Theministersandprovincial leadersno and notforthepublic.Oneformeragencyboss identify newsthatissuitablefortheleaders Xinhua were sackedby agency inFanzhi,ShanxiProvince deShanxi known bytopleaders.Correspondents forthe nalists toavoidtheirmisdoingsbecoming trance hall. names, facesandoffences intheagency’s en- ployees losttheirlivesin2004. the ownerofaminewhere severaldozenem- custody forcomplicity inthethiscrimeagainst nese general public) general nese Kong Express Kong reference”.ed as“internal Sometimesthese journalists havebeenarrested journalists andgiv- are journalists supposedtobeable cials threaten orcorrupt Xinhua compensa- ed withgovernment acopyofspeechthatJian Ze- Xinhua journalist, spentsixyears in journalist, cial press. Thefi aftertakingbribesfrom Xinhua Xinhua poststheir rt thing rst Hong Hong jour- 5 CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency readers. the subjectwastoosensitiveforChinese The propaganda serviceswouldhavedecided news couldnotbefoundontheChinesewire. Zhongmou districtincentralChina.Butthis of theMuslimminorityandHanmajorityin put outareport ofclashesbetween members “ Known asthe“pandas”byagencystaff since “The pandas” reference”“internal andsentdirectly to dangerous tothestateisgivenheading and ideologicalcourses”.Anyreport deemed long training,themaincomponentof“civic ing articles,forwhichtheyhaveundergone a well versedinthecriteriatobeusedselect- sentabroadJournalists are supposed tobe Abroad in November2004, selves donotgettheinformation.Inthisway, on majorevents.ButinfacttheChinesethem- fi to givetheimpression toforeign mediaandof- tic newsdepartment.Thisstrategyisdesigned time censored bythemanagersindomes- on thesituationinChinathatisatsame al departmenthasatendencytopublishnews Since 2004,itisnoticeablethattheinternation- or refer itupthehierarchy ifthere isaproblem. of sectionwilldecidewhere tosendthereport ence” inthisdepartment.Asbefore, thehead Fewer reports are classifi sent be to (reports Department International ber 2004andhewasreleased inJuly2005. ministry hadreduced Wu’s sentenceinNovem- the Party. thatChina’s Itwaslearned justice of government policytobe playedupinthere-of government handle, newsnottobehandled, thekeypoints they decidedtheirdailywork plan:newsto heads ofsectionattenda meetingatwhich ataroundsection. Everymorning 9.30am,all Self-censorship isconstant,” saidoneheadof important tocheckwhatisgivenoutberead. and intendedforChineseclients.Itisthere very ment. “ThecheckednewsiswritteninChinese cally andtakeafi who checkreports grammaticallyandideologi- are thefi the hierarchy. Theyactaseditors-in-chiefand cy cadres rankabovethe headsofsectionin Department andtheStateCouncil. managers whosenditontothePropaganda abroad) cials thatChinadoesnotimposeablackout they snooze throughout the day the throughout snooze they nal linkintheeditorialchain.Itisthey nal decisionincaseofargu- Xinhua e “nenl refer- “internal ed ’s Englishservice ”, theseagen- Xinhua

tor-in-chief were bothseverely reprimanded by ”The sixthaffl nal enemies. comes todenouncingChina’s orexter- internal to addinthenecessarydramatisationwhenit with thepropaganda services,are relied upon thehierarchicaljournalists, bosses,incontact the “truth”ofagency. According toseveral with thegreatest attentionsinceitwillbecome rector issummonedandtoldtotreat thisnews most importantstories.Atrustedforeign cor- nating translationsintoallthelanguagesfor The “pandas”are alsoresponsible forco-ordi- light. deliberately seekingtoshowChinainabad for aFree Press”. For lecturer,Guobiao, journalism inhis“Manifesto when itcomestoputtingoutnews”,saysJiao the stanceofDepartmentPropaganda fi cold war:supportwhoeverfi ment isthatithastakenonthemantleof and soon. war inIraq,forRobertMugabe,FidelCastro slavia, thenforSaddamHusseinduringthefi during theUSinterventioninformerYugo- conditional supportforSlobodanMilosevic revealing oftheeditorialpolicy classifi sacked foraccidentallyputtingoutareport The fatethatawaitedanagencyjournalist, The caseofYang Zidi the their reports against foreign media,particularly order theirsubordinates toincludeattacksin down andtakingnotes.Thepandasregularly heads ofsectionlistentotheirorders, heads There isnodiscussionduringthemeeting.The section. ports ortheunavoidabletranslationsfrom each the StateCouncil. tice ofmemberstheCentral Committeenor have remained secret, didnotescape theno- who putitintoanarticle.The news,thatshould deals withnewsthroughout Chinese territory) the “HongKong,Macao,Taiwan” section(that He senttheinformationtoacorrespondent in or noticeaheadingbanningallpublication. did notrealise where thepaperhadcomefrom steps takenagainsttheepidemic,buteditor Central Committee.Itwasasimplesummaryof of apaperaboutSarsproduced bytheCCP for foreign departments,madeuseinApril2003 Yang Zidi,editor inchiefofthenationalsection ght whoevertheenemysupports.Thatisstill BBC World Service World BBC reference”,ed as“internal isparticularly iction ofthepropaganda depart- Xinhua Xinhua and ’s president andedi- CNN ghts theenemy, , it turns intoun- , itturns Xinhua , accusedof . 6 rst CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency hate theirownteams.” eryone wantstoleavetheagency:bosses Xinhua Leaders andled er, the But thatwasnottheendofit.Onemonthlat- self-criticism. resign. Yang Zidiwassacked,afterwritinga the CCPandheadofnewswasforced to ta ofabout60 reports amonth.Theyare paid translators” havetofulfi The “journalist ganda handbook a propa- The contentofreports: therefore, through corrupt cadre. ThePropaganda Department before publicationofanyinformationabouta committees oftheCCPshouldbeconsulted press in2004–laiddownthattheregional One directive –revealed bytheHongKong this organ oftheCCPandstickstoitslavishly. partment. Theagencygetsitseditoriallinefrom for working setting thebigchiefs”.“We are beingpunished werejournalists reluctant tosignforfearof“up- reportedly circulated foratimebutmanyofthe ment forYang Zidi’s mistake.Aprotest letter tion. Manybelieveditwasacollectivepunish- the managementrefused togiveanyexplana- werejournalists affected bythisstep,forwhich basic salary. Asmanyas500oftheagency’s amounted tomore than50%ofajournalist’s paymentsthatoften ber ofagencyjournalists, stopping housingallowancesforalarge num- for offi rently imprisonedinChina,12ofwhomworked areimprisonment. Atleast32journalists cur- offending journalist/editor, dismissal andeven a specifi from thenewsstands,abanonpublicationfor escalates likethis:withdrawalofnewspapers plied afterthepublicationof“reference news” der. Theretaliation measures thatcanbeap- accused ofhavingdefi gamesremainthese littleinternal theeditors, as todamagearival.Butthesolevictimsof so to slipsensitiveinformationajournalist the media.ItisnotunusualforaPartycadre clans itisalsoawayofdoingbattlethrough est levelsofstate.Forthedifferent government reference”The “internal reports reach thehigh- invasion.” mass graves(…)ConcentrateontheAmerican entire press: “Don’t talktoomuchaboutIraqi cial media. cial isdefactorunbythePropaganda De- Xinhua ed period,salaryattachmentforthe managementannounceditwas Xinhua Xinhua ,” saidoneofthem.“Ev- ed theestablishedor- , givesorders tothe l aquo- In thefi Sars epidemic. Asscores ofpeople diedworldwide, six-month blackoutonallinformation aboutthe But thepiecemadenomention ofthenearly of thePeopleChinasaid.” in Chinesesociety, a professor attheUniversity measures are evidenceofagreater openness on theactivitiesofauthorities.Allthese couraged tomakesuggestionsandcomments concluded: “From nowon,thepeopleare en- now becomeademocraticcountry. Thereport delay andsupposedtoshowthatChinahad catalogue ofdramaticevents,reported without and soon”.Itcontinuedinthesameveinwitha earthquake, explosionsinBeijinguniversities jor eventsinreal time,includingtheXinjiang since thestartofyear, Chinarevealed ma- promotes transparency innewsmanyareas: that itsefforts were verysuccessful(…)China the World HealthAuthority(WHO),whichfound monia withtheworldinreal time,according to dertook toshare newsabouttheatypicalpneu- un- the outsideworld.TheChinesegovernment against Sarsshowsagreater openness towards “China’s transparency innewsaboutthefi parency wrote: innews”,oneagencyjournalist “China showsgreater opennessthrough trans- In a9July2003commentpieceheadlined, of theagency’s journalists. ing butSarsreports fortwomonths”,saidone ties’ worktohaltitsprogress. “We putoutnoth- practical informationandboastoftheauthori- demic, acknowledgedtheepi- Once thegovernment masksthanthestaff.ern handed out.Agencymanagersgotmore mod- to theagency’s premises andmaskswere perature controls were installedattheentrance gathered tobetoldnotworry. Howevertem- istence ofSarsinChina.Internally, staff were line withtheChineseauthorities,deniedex- handled orunreported by few examplesofreports onthesubjectofnews regime hasnotchangedin50years.Here are a not realise the extenttowhichthecore ofthe ing buildingsandbroad avenues,probably do phant countrywith9%annualgrowth, gleam- who seeChinafrom theoutside,thistrium- anovists ofnewsputdowntheirtools.Those Well, infact,nothing.Work stops.Thestakh- when thequotaofreports hasbeenreached. stories, selectedarbitrarily. Butwhathappens that manysubjectsappeartobecockandbull “per item”,40yuans,whichexplainsthefact rst monthsoftheepidemic, Xinhua wasputonfullalerttoproduce Xinhua . Xinhua 7 ght , in CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency Moreover, fi waited weeksbefore mobilisingthecountryto they onlyinformedthecommunistleaderswho demic thatwasravagingthesouthofChinabut Party imposedablackoutonhisdeath. who hadbeenbanishedsinceJune1989,the For fearofdemonstrationsintributetoaleader put outthenews. a notetoChineseTVandradioheadsnot was nophototogowiththestory. Itcamewith the Partywere notevenreferred toandthere story ofabout60words. Hisfunctionswithin eral daily afterwards, three managersofthefamouslib- China wasnowirreversible, butafewmonths tries thatpurport torespect press freedom, media, comingfromporting bywestern coun- thorities withidealarguments tocondemn “re- The warinIraqalsoprovided theChineseau- propaganda machine. of thelastmouthpiecesSaddamHussein’s ing, remain inprison. China. Two ofthem,Yu HuafengandLiMiny- authorities –anewSarscaseinthesouthof having revealed –withouttheagreement ofthe Iraq, is theUnitedStates.Duringsecondwarin also likestogivelessons.Itsfavouritetarget it ing themostelementaryrulesofjournalism, Xinhua Press freedom the CCP, wasreported by minister, ZhaoZiyang,exsecretary generalof The death,on17January2005,offormerprime The ZhaoZiyang case Managers at censored allinformationputoutonthesubject. Province Chinapinpointedand insouthern the Propaganda DepartmentinGuangdong of theUnitedStates”). than thatofthe vided bytheIraqiinformationministerrather a briefannouncementonChinesetelevision. trols onthemedia,washoweversubjectof the formerleaderwhoin1989relaxed thecon- agency website paganda, wentunreported onthepagesof Rui Xingwen,adismissedformerheadofpro- In thesameway, inJune2005,thedeathof ship. was intheforefront ofthisgeneralisedcensor- ght theepidemic. Xinhua doesnotconfi Nanfang Dushi Bao Dushi Nanfang Xinhua chosetotaketheinformationpro- Xinhua Associated Press Press Associated Xinhuanet.com saidthattransparency in knewabouttheSarsepi- ne itselftoopenlyscorn- Xinhua Xinhua were arrested for thusbecameone . Thedeathof (renamed “AP inacryptic Xinhua

practical jokes”leading were regularly termed“fraudulent”or“huge objectivity andjustice”.Americanpress reports in Baghdad. word forword, thetermsusedbyregime “killers ofwomenandchildren”, pickingup, lawless aggressors”, “theinvaders”andeven the UnitedStateswasreferred toas“faithless, ports abouttheprogress oftheconfl media”. Inre-tol themethodsofsomewestern 28 March 2003thatitwouldbe“diffi countries recognizing Taiwan. Beijing interests: Chadisoneofthefew African out Borders. Butonceagain,thestorysupports sights”, wentsofarastoquoteReportersWith- the justicesystemhasprivatepress inits In August,2005,onestory, headlined“Chad: the diffi in amine. prevented from journalist coveringanexplosion dom inChina,includingwhenlocaloffi reports haveraisedtheproblem ofpress free- There havebeenafewrare occasionsonwhich news.” Xinhua promptness, theseare theprinciplesthat the slogan:“Truth, objectivity, impartialityand ethics.Itswebsitebears issues ofjournalistic Xinhua the deathpenalty foradolescentsandthe men- of veryfewcountriesinthe worldthatallows of thedeathpenalty. “TheUnitedStatesisone ed States”.Itparticularlyrefers totheexistence report on“thestateofhuman rightsintheUnit- port, theagencyproduced its ownfour-page On theeveofpublicationAmericanre- a century”. that the“Tibetanslivewithdemocracyforhalf of humanrights”claimingamongotherthings progress hasbeenchalkedupintheprotection na”. Thiswasfollowedbyclaimsthat“major to lieaboutthestateofhumanrightsinChi- claims andunscrupulouslydistortedthefacts objective”, sayingithad“collectedunfounded demns thereport as“irresponsible” and“not on humanrightsinothercountries.Hecon- sue withtheUSStateDepartment2002report pert (whooddlyasksforanonymity),takesis- In onereport, on4April2003,aChinese ex- the appallingstateoffreedoms inChina. countriesdrawattentionto tions andwestern humanrightsorganisa-tack wheninternational Xinhua Human rights agencystrictlyobservesinputtingout doesnothesitatetogivelessonson hastherole ofleadingthecounter-at- inothercountries. culties forjournalists Xinhua canalsotakeaninterest in Xinhua toconcludeon cult toex- ict in Iraq, in ict 8 cials CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency ceived nomentionatall. faithful church orfollowersofFalungongre- Muslims inXinjiang,CatholicsoftheVatican criticism ontheplightofBuddhistsinTibet, enjoy freedom ofreligious belief”.International in 2004.Theagencystresses thatthe“Chinese China’s StateCouncilonhumanrightsinChina report tothepublicationofawhitepaperby committed by theImperialArmyduringWorld of ahistorybookthatplayed downthecrimes approval bytheJapaneseeducation ministry taken placeinseveralChinese citiesagainstthe website aboutviolentdemonstrations thathad On 10Apriltheagencyposted astoryonits The anti-JapanesedemonstrationsofApril2005 up 13times. Mao.” Inthree paragraphsthenameMaocrops able toseemore andmore worksdevoted to progress ofcinematechnology, viewerswillbe with thedeepeningofhistoricaltheoryand Film-maker Wang saidhewasconvincedthat who infl works retracing thelifeofgreat helmsman, people are impatientlywaitingthegreat artistic fl particular feelingofemotionforMao(…)Thein- cess withthepublic,whocontinuetoavowa revolutionary spiritofMaowere enjoyingsuc- Wang, addingthattheworksintributeto tary choiceoftheartiststhemselves,saysMr all anorder from butavolun- thegovernment The articlehastenstospecify:“Thisisnotat great man’s birth.” Mao andSnowonthe109thanniversaryofthe another, saidWang Xuexin,whomadethefi to speaktheChinesefrom onegenerationto personality ofthegloriousdeceasedcontinues ed broadcast evenmore sosincethecharmand capital importanceandisworthyofuninterrupt- feel great interest inpresident Mao.Hislifeisof (27 December2002).“SomeChinesedirectors revives theinspirationofChinesefi of theGreat Helmsman.“FilmonMaoZedong splendour. Theclassiconeistherehabilitation mark thepathtowards afuture ofwealthand myth through aglorifi the permanentedifi Finally, there allthosereports thatpanderto Socialist mythology Likewise, inApril2005, mocracy” appearswithinquotationmarks. accused since1973”.Theterm“Americande- more than200ofitscitizenshavebeenwrongly tally ill:TheAmericanauthoritiesconfi uence of Mao willneverdie,andabroad many uenced thehistoryof theworld(…) cation ofthecommunist cation ofthepast.They Xinhua devotedalong lm-makers” r that rm lm were many–waspickedupby same way, nocriticalreaction –althoughthere rights, wasthesubjectofalongreport. Inthe April backingBeijingonTaiwan andhuman statementon7 na. AColombiangovernment reported whentheyare intheinterests ofChi- The stanceofforeign offi be anindicationofcredibility. are reproduced exactly, whichissupposedto absence ofcriticalvoices.Offi War II. Despite allthis, of SirLanka,were putoutbytheagency. parlementarian, from Algeriaandthepresident Taiwan. Butsupportfrom Romania,aCroatian anti-secession lawadoptedbyChinaagainst French pagesonthe an analysisinApril2005ofthecontent A Belgianstudentinpoliticalsciencecarriedout What Xinhuanet.com of This studyshedslightontheconstantfeature Asia isparticularlystressed. so on.China’s friendlyandwellmeaningrole in offi Japanese guests”,“ArankingChinesemilitary tion for5April:“AChinesevicepremier meets headlines forthemainstoriesonChinasec- activities ofanoffi detail, mostofthestorieswere basedonthe view ofthesituationinMiddleKingdom.In 80% ofstoriesonChinesenewsgaveapositive sometimes minimised, thereasons forthetrag- and otherindustrialaccidents. Thefi also articlesontheverylarge numberofmining problems are alsocautiouslyraised.There are cy’s China’s discussionforumsontheInternet. possible tofi pared withtheNorthKorean newsagency. Itis story onthefront pageoftheChinasection As anti-Japaneseprotests spread, thesplash violence. police hadonlyintervenedbelatedlytoprevent pressthe international wasrevealing thatthe and organisations inChina.”Atthesametime, to guaranteethesafetyofJapanesecitizens for demonstratorstoremain calm,hasworked foreign hadcalled ministry(…)Thegovernment according tothespokesmanforChinese for thecurrent stateofSino-Japaneserelations, hides an international peonyfestival… an international cial seeksmore cooperationwithItaly”and Xinhua Xinhua Xinhua ’s handling of news:thesystematic nd criticalmessagesontheagen- said:“Chinaisnotresponsible wasdevotedtotheopeningof Xinhua says and whatit cial. Thestudyquotedthe Xinhua shouldnotbecom- cials are extensively site.Hefoundthat ca comments cial Xinhua gures are gures tothe 9 CHINA Xinhua : the world’s biggest propaganda agency was, intheeyesof Korea’s nuclearprogramme, theUnitedStates able treatment. During2005talksoverNorth treated bytheagency. NorthKorea hasfavour- Burma, SudanandPakistanare allequallywell sacked. hard wayafewyearsago.Theblundergothim Radio China International China Radio Again recently, Xinhua 4 %. specify thatthefi does involved. Ontheotherhand,journalist is givenaboutthevarioustypesofaccidents cidents inthefi nounced that300,000peoplehaddiedinac- an investigation.Areport on5April2005,an- to pointoutthattheauthoritieshaveordered edies hidden,buttheagencyisalwaysquick der offi “J’accuse” wasforced toleavehiscountry un- in1963, authorofthisnew people” Jiao,born stupidity”, andprotects “malicious andcorrupt Communist party”,shows “insensitivityand tution”, betrays“thehighidealsoftheChinese worthy ofNaziGermany”,“murders theConsti- that thisorgan oftheParty“usingmethods ganda Department”.Theacademicconsidered he enumeratedthe“14affl Guobiao, postedapamphletonlineinwhich professorJournalism atBeijingUniversity, Jiao Conclusions tator. workingfor ANorthAmericanjournalist over FidelCastro shouldneverbecalledadic- tion forces inIraqwere calledinvaders.More- called SaddamHusseinadictator, whileCoali- never in Zimbabwe.AndChinesejournalists agrarian reform” theexpropriation offarmland “western democracy”model. “western na’s support forcountriesfi plan fortheMiddleEast”madeveryclearChi- Khamenei callsforresistance totheAmerican thing on7April2005,astoryheadlined“Iran: point ofviewtheTehran authorities.Same published intendays,almostallreplicating the ons, gotfavourabletreatment. Ten storieswere fl Iran, whichinApril2005wasoutrightcon- reproduced. the DearLeaderKimJong-ilwere extensively hand, theattacksagainstimperialistsby for anystallinginnegotiations.Ontheother ict withtheUnitedStatesovernuclearweap- cial pressure. cial : spokesmanfortheworstregimes rst third oftheyear, butnothing Xinhua gure hasfallenbymore than Xinhua described as “modern describedas“modern ictions ofthePropa- foundthatoutthe , alwaysresponsible ghting againstthe dismissed from As MichelWu whowas explainsit,ajournalist by theoffi its quotaofarticlesandcommentariesputout to adhere totheideasofCCPandrespect which wouldemerge, wouldhavetocontinue diately stressed thatsemi-privatepress groups as to“rejuvenate thenewsindustry”.Itimme- gan aseriesofreforms ofthewrittenpress so be- Likewise, inJanuary2004,thegovernment and freedom ofinformation. its commitmentsontheissuesoftransparency tional OlympicCommittee,toremind Beijingof tional communityandparticularlytheInterna- offi urgently beginseriousandfar-reaching reform Olympic Games,theChineseauthoritiesmust Three yearsbefore thestartofBeijing of thepress whenitcomestosensitiveissues. rigueur andthesolepartyaimstokeepcontrol Centralised newsandinformationisalwaysde protestthis despiteinternational campaigns”. ty haveremained unchangedfor50years,and the procedures oftheChineseCommunistPar- following the1989BeijingSpring,“Basically, strengthen thepredominance of news. Thesedecisionsare clearlydesignedto individual involvedbefore puttingoutnegative resentatives oftheCentralCommitteeorevery own. Italsoordered tocontactrep- journalists ing” theauthoritiesofprovinces otherthantheir intheregionaljournalists press from “criticis- nance ofoffi series ofregulations reinforcing thepredomi- Central Committee,handedthemediaanew In May2005,anorgan oftheCommunist Party news production. the goalofmaintaining content. ThePropaganda Departmentalsohas and goallouttopurge websiteofsubversive nalists, laydownwhichsubjectsare banned Its heads,summonmediabossesandjour- tives, isoneofthemilitarywingsregime. tem. Infact,thisbody, bastionoftheconserva- heart ofthecensorshipandpropaganda sys- Jiao Guobiao’s crimewastohaveattackedthe cial media.Itisalsotheduty oftheinterna- cial agency. cial cial nationalmedia.Thisbanned Xinhua afterrefusing towork Xinhua ’s monopolyon Xinhua . 10