WAN SHENG
PARIS, Aug. 17
http://www.upiasiaonline.com
As the Chinese Communist Party's 17th National Congress approaches, the nationwide media -- which is controlled by the Party and has long been its mouthpiece -- is fulfilling its goal of stopping people's mouths. Beijing authorities responsible for the media have issued new bans on reporting negative news. Even watching Phoenix TV, based in Hong Kong and often pro-Beijing, has been deemed illegal.
The ban also covers the Internet. On Aug. 1, over 20 well known Internet media in China, including Xinhua Net, China Net, Sina Net, Sohu Net, Baidu Net and others, appealed to all the Internet media in the country to refrain from spreading "fake news" and to help create a "harmonious news environment."
The vice director of the Information Office of the State Council at the same time stressed that Internet media should study the speech of President Hu Jintao at the Central Party School in June and the theory of journalism based on Marxism, always put the interests of society as their priority, and persist in correctly directing public opinion. The top task for Internet media now is to be ready for the public information campaign of the 17th Party Congress.
As a matter of fact, "negative news" in China has already been filtered or polished by the media mouthpiece of the CCP; it is quite rare for any "negative news" to be actually reported. China's Propaganda Department once sent out documents banning 27 types of events from being reported, including incidents related to disasters, the Falun Gong sect, forced abortion, unemployment, appropriation of farmers' land, and many more. Moreover, any official of the CCP can interfere with the publication of "negative news." According to the Washington Post, Commerce Minister Bo Xilai once banned all negative news reports about Shenyang and Dalian, two major cities in Liaoning province.
Local governments are particularly sensitive to negative news about their regions. It seems that the image of the regions can only be improved by such news bans. Quite often there will be funny "instructions" issued. For example, the city of Nanjing recently held a press conference at which the local government requested all organizations including media not to use the word "fireplace" to describe the city's high summer temperatures.
By contrast, in Western countries even trifling negative news is reported everywhere. The media try every means to get unfavorable information about public figures. Except for occasional silly and funny news in a box or sidebar, "positive news" is very limited.
A country cannot win esteem by playing games to induce flattery from others. Instead, it is won by respecting and protecting its citizens, including the weak and even the dead. Keeping the public uninformed about unexpected developments does not serve the public good; rather it is a seedbed of corruption.
If "negative news" cannot be seen, the people don't know where to direct their sympathy and concern, and civil society cannot hold wrongdoers accountable. If this continues, the lives of the Chinese people will be cheapened. Mainland China might become a heaven by fooling its people into believing they live in the most prosperous country, while people in other countries are all suffering.
The mouthpieces of the CCP create "positive news" in several ways. The first is by covering up the truth. For example, when the late Vice Premier Huang Ju was seriously ill, state media continued to report that he was in good health and attending various events. The second is by deception, as when a news announcer reported that the victims of a disaster were "as happy as if it were New Year when the leaders went to visit them." The third is by making the bad appear good: When reporting the expulsion of corrupt officials from the CCP, the media said it was "safeguarding the advanced characteristics of the Party."
The fourth is by exaggeration. Take the 2010 Shanghai World Expo for example. The CCP has called it "an Economic Olympic Games" with 70 million people expected to participate. The official who said this might have forgotten about the 1999 Kunming World Horticultural Fair, in which the government invested 29 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) and lost 28 billion yuan. We still recall the financial losses Germany faced from the 2000 Hanover World Expo. The French government was clever enough to give up the last World Expo after winning the hosting rights. All these show that the Expo is no longer attractive to foreign visitors.
Regarding "fake news," what are the criteria? China's Propaganda Department has stipulated that when interviewed by journalists, all government officials must bear in mind the Party's principles and obey Party discipline. Figures such as death tolls or economic losses sustained in disasters must be standardized by the central government before they are released to the public.
Guiding public opinion is regarded as the purpose of journalism in China. The highest-level Party mouthpieces are the ones that create fake news, change history, make up fictional stories, distort characters and edit pictures. They also insert political propaganda in the form of "red memories" into news programs.
There is a funny story reported online recently in which Internet readers, or netizens, discovered a fake news report created by the authorities. For the past half year or so, the army newspaper, army journals, and Party newspapers have been propagating the story of a "first generation hero of the People's Republic China" who earned 41 military medals. After carefully checking the cover story of an army journal, one netizen found that many of his medals were actually fake. People's eyes are bright, especially netizens'.
Even though netizens may not be able to reveal all the truth, their online sharing and communication is often judged illegal by the authorities. But which law are they violating? Article 40 of the Constitution says that freedom of speech and the right to privacy are guaranteed by law.
As for the new "news law," we have heard of it but have not yet seen it. It is true that rumors should not be spread by the media, but it is against the Constitution if the authorities arrest netizens or ban online communications. These acts show that China is still under the rule of people, not the rule of law.
At the ceremony to mark the one-year countdown to the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the mouthpiece media of the CCP reached their climax. They will keep on winning the gold medal in restricting journalists; meanwhile, they are preparing to become the all-round champion in creating fake news.
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(Wan Sheng is a Chinese freelance writer and political commentator based in Paris, France. This article is edited and translated from the Chinese by UPI Asia Online; the original can be found at www.ncn.org . cCopyright Wan Sheng.)
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