CHINA MEDIA BULLETIN A weekly update of press freedom and censorship news related to the People’s Republic of China Issue No. 40: November 17, 2011 Top Headlines Aided by donations, Ai Weiwei pays deposit to appeal tax case Advertisers flock to state TV after curbs on entertainment shows Controversial Confucius Peace Prize awarded to Vladimir Putin Falun Gong radio operators imprisoned in Vietnam As China’s state media expand, U.S. bill calls for visa limits BROADCAST / PRINT MEDIA NEWS U.S. envoy’s hometown visit draws enthusiasm, censorship A recent three-day visit (November 2–4) by U.S. ambassador Gary Locke to his ancestral village of Jilong in Taishan, Guangdong Province, has sparked another round of public excitement. Ever since Locke arrived in Beijing in August, Chinese netizens have been talking about his ordinary lifestyle, including carrying his own backpack and travelling in economy class, which contrasts sharply with the privileges enjoyed by Chinese officials. State-run media have responded to netizen admiration by calling Locke’s behavior a calculated ―neocolonialist plot.‖ However, the U.S. envoy told Chinese reporters that the media spotlight on him was ―totally unexpected.‖ Two Chinese reporters have further confirmed the government’s wariness of Locke’s popularity, revealing that they had been warned by the propaganda authorities not to ―hype‖ his Guangdong trip. Indeed, while a small local newspaper ran a question-and-answer article with the ambassador on the front page, the Guangzhou Daily, which has a much larger circulation, buried a short story about Locke on page 10, and the national Xinhua news agency apparently did not cover the visit. Locke’s trip to the village was reported live on the U.S. embassy’s account on the popular Chinese microblogging service Sina Weibo, and that coverage drew thousands of comments and reposts within one day. In a video clip, Locke stressed his Chinese ancestry with a brief greeting in Taishan dialect. www.freedomhouse.org Chinese, but not their leaders, flock to U.S. envoy: New York Times 11/11/2011 For envoy to China, the personal and political mix: National Public Radio 11/4/2011 Locke causes stir via live microblog broadcast (in Chinese): Voice of America 11/3/2011 Aided by donations, Ai Weiwei pays deposit to appeal tax case On November 15, prominent Chinese blogger and artist Ai Weiwei handed over some 8.7 million yuan ($1.3 million) to the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau as a deposit in his tax evasion case. Two weeks earlier he had been ordered to make the payment by that deadline in order to continue his appeal of the overall tax bill of $2.4 million (see CMB No. 39). Though Ai had suggested creating a joint account, the authorities insisted on being the sole recipient. They also refused to take Ai’s family assets as collateral for the rest of the tax demand. After Ai received the order to surrender the funds on November 1, more than 30,000 people donated via bank transfers, and others folded cash into paper airplanes and tossed it over a wall and into the artist’s compound in Beijing. The Chinese Communist Party–run Global Times immediately criticized his ―illegal fundraising,‖ noting that it was supported by ―an extremely small number‖ of people compared with China’s total population. Ai appeared to be deeply moved by the mobilization of so many people on his behalf. Upon request by his supporters, to whom Ai vowed to pay back the donated money, he recorded and posted online a performance in which he mocked China’s media censorship (click China Digital Times link below for video). The artist told journalists that he felt ―upset and helpless‖ over the whole process, but also observed that ―being afraid will not help me.‖ Chinese artist Ai Weiwei pays bond to appeal tax demand: BBC 11/15/2011 Ai Weiwei donations hit $1.37 Million, enough to challenge tax charges: Wall Street Journal 11/14/2011 Ai Weiwei faces obstructions, threats as payment deadline looms: China Digital Times 11/15/2011 Ai Weiwei: Artist’s fearlessness draws others to his fight: Globe and Mail 11/14/2011 Online and by paper airplane, contributions pour into Chinese dissident: New York Times 11/6/2011 Violence against media highlighted on Journalists’ Day On November 8, International Journalists’ Day, the Chinese Communist Party–run China Youth Daily featured a report on Fujian-based television journalist Deng Cunyao, who was stabbed while leaving work on October 18 last year, after he uncovered a scandal surrounding a local hospital. The paper said its report on the incident was meant to highlight violence against journalists, who need more support because they ―represent the will of the public and conscience of society.‖ Indeed, violence and harassment aimed at journalists in China have risen in recent years, with two new incidents reported in recent weeks. On October 28, Cai Sheng and Wang Shaoyang, two reporters at www.freedomhouse.org Radio and Television Shanghai, were attacked by more than 10 thugs in an electronics store in Hengshui, Hebei Province. Several cars had arrived soon after the shop owner found that the two reporters were there to investigate bribery and misconduct by guards at the nearby Shenzhou Prison. One unidentified man struck Cai on the head with an iron bar, causing him to be hospitalized. Separately, on October 30, Xun Xuyang, a reporter at Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily, was briefly held by authorities in Zhumadian, Henan Province, while investigating the case of a local police chief who allegedly struck eight pedestrians while driving drunk, with five later dying. Shanghai journalists beaten while investigating Hebei Shenzhou prison chaos (in Chinese): FMN Now 10/29/2011 A chilling tale for Journalists Day: China Media Project 11/8/2011 Central government must prevent media harassment, says IFJ: IFEX 11/3/2011 Advertisers flock to state TV after curbs on entertainment shows On November 8, nearly 250 Chinese and foreign companies participated in an annual multibillion- dollar advertising auction by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). They collectively agreed to pay the station a record-high 14.26 billion yuan ($2.25 billion) to air their commercials in 2012. Bank of China reportedly committed to spend 76 million yuan next year on a 10-second commercial, which will be aired daily after the CCTV evening news in January and February. Some analysts said CCTV was benefiting from recently announced restrictions on entertainment programming that effectively reduced competition from popular satellite television stations based in the provinces, reinforcing CCTV’s status as ―the most effective way to reach China’s consumers,‖ according to one ad-agency executive (see CMB No. 38). However, according to Innovative Finance Observation, a Tianjin-based party-run paper, the entertainment restrictions also contributed to higher rates for some ads on China’s 34 satellite television stations, because advertiser competition has increased for slots surrounding the reduced number of popular entertainment shows. CCTV’s ad-sales auction draws record bids: Wall Street Journal 11/9/2011 Entertainment restriction order pushes television ad sales growth (in Chinese): Innovative Finance Observation 11/13/2011 Duty to Communist Party stressed as Xinhua turns 80 China’s state-run Xinhua news agency marked its 80th anniversary on November 7. During a speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Li Changchun, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda chief and a Politburo Standing Committee member, called on Xinhua to guide public opinion in a manner favorable to the Chinese authorities. He said the news agency bears an ―important responsibility‖ in the implementation of ―cultural reforms,‖ the key goal to emerge from a closed-door CCP summit in October. He urged Xinhua to remove public doubts, particularly when it came to issues like ―the Party’s ruling position.‖ The agency’s content and personnel decisions are tightly controlled by the CCP, and reporting often strays from the truth or vilifies the www.freedomhouse.org targets of government repression. In recent years, Xinhua has expanded abroad and on the internet. Its website Xinhuanet, which provides news services in six languages (Chinese, English, Spanish, French, Russian, and Arabic), boasts 80 million page views per day. Party loyalty drives China's Xinhua news agency at 80: Agence France-Presse 11/6/2011 Li Changchun speaks at the 80th anniversary of Xinhua: China Scope 11/9/2011 Xinhua: International society sent greetings on Xinhua’s 80th anniversary: China Scope 11/6/2011 Xinhuanet Brief Introduction Xinhua, the world’s biggest propaganda agency: Reporters Without Borders 9/30/2005 Press regulator sets new rules, penalties for ‘false’ reporting On November 10, China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), which enforces state media regulations, announced that it would punish any Chinese news organizations that engaged in ―inaccurate‖ reporting. Under the new rules, journalists must have at least two sources for ―critical‖ reports, and they are banned from changing photographs or video clips in ways that distort their authenticity. They must also personally conduct interviews when collecting information, which cannot come from the internet without verification. The new measures appeared to be aimed at containing stories that originate on China’s microblogging services, whose popularity and speed have made censorship of emerging news items difficult. Reporters’ press cards will be revoked if they are found to have fabricated stories that had ―serious consequences,‖ and media outlets will be required to issue corrections and public apologies for inaccurate reports. Outlets could also face temporary suspension for such articles. Notably, terms like ―inaccurate‖ and ―critical‖ remain undefined, meaning the rules could be enforced arbitrarily or in a highly politicized manner, as has occurred with similar crackdowns on so-called ―fake‖ reports implemented in the past.