Media Controls in China

We all know about media controls in China, but if you need further details, check out Anne Stevenson-Yang's article.

In the article, Yang wrote that the State Press and Publications Administration (PPA) has members of the staff "exclusively devoted" to reading the Beijing Youth Daily (北京青年报) and the Southern Weekend (南方周末) - newspapers that frequently pursue stories on official corruption, and have a following among well-educated urban Chinese.

The Propaganda Bureau also sponsors groups of retired editors in each city to read newspapers and magazines for content that "does not conform to current propaganda instructions".

Yang added: "Should the editors flag something as non-conforming, an internal Party report goes to the PPA, which makes a phone call or issues a notice to the publication's editor. Such notices are received with great seriousness, because the PPA has the preemptive right to stop publication without notice, while Propaganda may remove editors from their jobs. In a serious case, the Party's report will also lead to administrative detention ("reform through labor") for an editor or lead to civil charges that put him or her in jail." (Anne Stevenson-Yang, "The Absent-Minded Reform of China's Media", in China's Leadership in the 21st Century: The Rise of the Fourth Generation, Ed. David. M Finkelstein and Maryanne Kivlehan)

Oh well.

But what a fascinating job it is - to be able to sit around all day reading newspapers and magazines! Someone please find me a job like that.