Freedom of the press in China

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Freedom of the press in China refers to the journalism standards and its freedom and censorship exercised by the government of China. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees "freedom of speech [and] of the press" which the government, in practice, routinely violates with total impunity, according to Reporters Without Borders. [1]

Contents

Authorities often label independent or investigative coverage as "fake news". [2] Since Xi Jinping became the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012, various commentators, protesters, feminists, lawyers, journalists, and activists have been arrested, detained, jailed, and threatened for attempting to exercise press freedom. [3] The 2020 World Press Freedom Index states that China is trying to establish a “new world media order” and maintain a system of information hyper-control, which the report says had negative effects for the entire world during the coronavirus public health crisis. [4] As of 2023, Reporters Without Borders called China "the world's largest jailer of journalists." [1]

Background

The country's constitution prohibits media workers, including internet users, from publishing, writing, circulating, or otherwise posting fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda related to various subjects such as national security, terrorism, ethnic hatred, violence, and obscenity. However, most private journalists are restricted from sharing certain views and opinions with the general public. [5]

China introduced Article 35 of the constitution of China that provides its citizens the right to observe "press freedom" in a free environment. However, Article 51 prohibits such activities for the national interest, which limits press freedom in the country. Chinese mass media such as radio and television broadcast news fall under Article 25, which limits their ability to broadcast plays, news, and other forms of information in free journalism standards. This, according to the Regulation on the Administration of Publishing, prevents transmitting of such content that poses risks to sovereignty and public interest. [5]

Freedom of the Press in China was greatest during the early period (1966–1968) of the Cultural Revolution. [6] During this period, several Red Guard organizations also operated independent printing presses to publish newspapers, articles, speeches, and big-character posters. [6]

Media organizations and its workers, explicitly, foreign media working within the country, "must" obtain a license before they engage in journalism compiled with standards which are regulated by the foreign affairs authority. Foreign media have limited access or freedom to attend press conferences of the National People's Congress. However, the law of China allows state-owned media with "free press", such as raising questions or concerns in the press conference. [5] Domestically, all credentialled journalists must study Xi Jinping thought through the "Study Xi, Strengthen the Country propaganda application" in order for them to renew their press credentials. [1] The app instructs journalists to "correctly guide public opinion." [7]

Global rank

As of 2023, the global rank of China declined to 179 out of 180, with only North Korea having less press freedom. China has been one of the countries with nominal freedom of press regulations. Reporters Without Borders, a non-government organization dedicated to safeguarding the right to information, published an annual report, the World Press Freedom Index, indicating that the Chinese Communist Party, the ruling party, is exercising self- and direct-censorship on the press. [8]

Censorship

According to Reporters Without Borders, the role of the media in China is to impart state propaganda. [1] According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2023, China ranks as the "worst jailer of journalists," with Uyghurs making up almost half of all imprisoned journalists. [9] China often blocks news websites, social media platforms, and other services such as Facebook, Gmail, Google, Instagram, and Pinterest, and has limited their access to the general public. The Great Firewall has blocked most foreign news websites, such as Voice of America, BBC News , The New York Times, and Bloomberg News . In 2017, Chinese authorities also removed about "300 politically sensitive articles" from the Cambridge University Press. However, this article removal was later contested online on Change.org. In 2019, some scholars and writers deleted their posts or permanently deleted their feeds after authorities asked them to do so. Some writers were warned for retweeting or liking posts. [10]

Under Xi Jinping, press censorship has increased. [11] The authorities often raid pro-democracy activists and media owners in an attempt to suppress the press. [12] In 2019, China blocked all available versions of Wikipedia in the country without any notice to Wikimedia Foundation. [13]

Chinese journalists are often detained for alleged negative coverage. In 2016, more than twenty journalists, including commentator Jia Jia, were arrested after an open letter was published calling on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to resign. According to Reporters without Borders, independent journalists and bloggers are often surveilled, harassed, detained, and, in some cases, tortured. [1] A report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2016 asserted that an estimated 49 journalists are serving prison terms, indicating that China is a "prolific jailer of media workers". [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Journalist</span> Person who collects, writes and distributes news and similar information

A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.

Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state; its preservation may be sought through the constitution or other legal protection and security. It is in opposition to paid press, where communities, police organizations, and governments are paid for their copyrights.

China censors both the publishing and viewing of online material. Many controversial events are censored from news coverage, preventing many Chinese citizens from knowing about the actions of their government, and severely restricting freedom of the press. China's censorship includes the complete blockage of various websites, apps, video games, inspiring the policy's nickname, the Great Firewall of China, which blocks websites. Methods used to block websites and pages include DNS spoofing, blocking access to IP addresses, analyzing and filtering URLs, packet inspection, and resetting connections.

The mass media in the People's Republic of China primarily consists of television, newspapers, radio, and magazines. Since the start of the 21st century, the Internet has also emerged as an important form of mass media and is under the direct supervision and control of the Chinese government and ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Media in China is strictly controlled and censored by the CCP, with the main agency that oversees the nation's media being the Central Propaganda Department of the CCP. The largest media organizations, including the China Media Group, the People's Daily, and the Xinhua News Agency, are all controlled by the CCP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xinhua News Agency</span> Official press agency of the Peoples Republic of China

Xinhua News Agency, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. It is a State Council's ministry-level institution, and was founded in 1931. It is the largest media organ in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reporters Without Borders</span> International organisation for freedom of the press

Reporters Without Borders is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization focused on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as founded on the belief that everyone requires access to the news and information, in line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that recognises the right to receive and share information regardless of frontiers, along with other international rights charters. RSF has consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organisation of the Francophonie.

<i>China Daily</i> English-language daily newspaper in China

China Daily is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is an American government-funded non-profit corporation operating a news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of providing accurate and uncensored reporting to countries in Asia that have poor media environments and limited protections for speech and press freedom and "advancing the goals of United States foreign policy."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Propaganda in China</span>

Propaganda in China is used by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and historically by the Kuomintang (KMT), to sway domestic and international opinion in favor of its policies. Domestically, this includes censorship of proscribed views and an active promotion of views that favor the government. Propaganda is considered central to the operation of the CCP and the Chinese government, with propaganda operations in the country being directed by the CCP's Central Propaganda Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xi Jinping</span> General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012, President of China since 2013

Xi Jinping is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus the paramount leader of China, since 2012. Xi has also been the president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 2013. As a member of the fifth generation of Chinese leadership, Xi is the first CCP general secretary born after the establishment of the PRC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party</span> Internal division of the CCP for ideology-related work and information dissemination

The Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, also known as the Propaganda Department or Central Propaganda Department, is an internal division of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in charge of spreading its ideology, media regulation, as well as creation and dissemination of propaganda. The department is also one of the main entities that enforces media censorship and control in the People's Republic of China. The department is a key organ in the CCP's propaganda system, and its inner operations are highly secretive.

The mass media in North Korea is amongst the most strictly controlled in the world. The constitution nominally provides for freedom of speech and the press. However, the government routinely disregards these rights, and seeks to mold information at its source. A typical example of this was the death of Kim Jong Il, news of which was not divulged until two days after it occurred. Kim Jong Un, who replaced his father as the leader, has largely followed in the footsteps of both his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and his father. However, new technologies are being made more freely available in the country. State-run media outlets are setting up websites, while mobile phone ownership in the country has escalated rapidly. "There is no country which monopolizes and controls successfully the internet and information as North Korea does," said Kang Shin-sam, an expert on North Korean technology and co-head of the International Solidarity for Freedom of Information in North Korea, a nonprofit based in South Korea. North Korea has about four million mobile-phone subscribers circa 2022—roughly one-sixth of the population and four times the number in 2012, according to an estimate by Kim Yon-ho, a senior researcher at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

Censorship in the People's Republic of China is mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world. The government censors content for mainly political reasons, such as curtailing political opposition, and censoring events unfavorable to the CCP, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, pro-democracy movements in China, the persecution of Uyghurs in China, human rights in Tibet, Falun Gong, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Xi Jinping became the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, censorship has been "significantly stepped up".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Press Freedom Index</span> Reporters Without Borders assessment of countries press freedom

The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002 based upon the organization's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organizations, and netizens have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom. Reporters Without Borders is careful to note that the WPFI only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass media in Israel</span> Print, broadcast and online media in the State of Israel

There are over ten different languages in the Israeli media, with Hebrew as the predominant one. Press in Arabic caters to the Arab citizens of Israel, with readers from areas including those governed by the Palestinian National Authority. During the eighties and nineties, the Israeli press underwent a process of significant change as the media gradually came to be controlled by a limited number of organizations, whereas the papers published by political parties began to disappear. Today, three large, privately owned conglomerates based in Tel Aviv dominate the mass media in Israel.

North Korea ranks among some of the most extreme censorship in the world, with the government able to take strict control over communications. North Korea sits at the bottom of Reporters Without Borders' 2023 Press Freedom Index, ranking 180 out of the 180 countries investigated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass media in Syria</span> Overview of Syrian mass media

The mass media in Syria consists primarily of television, radio, Internet, film and print. The national language of Syria is Arabic but some publications and broadcasts are also available in English and French. While television is the most popular medium in Syria, the Internet has become a widely utilized vehicle to disseminate content. Transcending all available media, the government seeks to control what Syrians see by restricting coverage from outside sources. Publications and broadcasts are monitored by members of the government. All mass media outlets are under the supervision of the Ministry of Information. Third article of the 2013 Information Ministry guidelines stipulate that purpose of all media outlets is "to enlighten public opinion" in line with the ideological doctrines "of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party and the policy of the state".

The Global Times is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the People's Daily, commenting on international issues from a Chinese nationalistic perspective. The publication is sometimes called "China's Fox News" for its propaganda and the monetization of nationalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xi Jinping Thought</span> Set of policies and ideals from Chinese leader Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, commonly abbreviated outside China as Xi Jinping Thought, or more recently, Xi'ism is an ideological doctrine created during General Secretary Xi Jinping's leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that combines Chinese Marxism and national rejuvenation. According to the CCP, Xi Jinping Thought "builds on and further enriches" previous party ideologies and has also been called as the "Marxism of contemporary China and of the 21st century". The theory's main elements are summarized in the ten affirmations, the fourteen commitments, and the thirteen areas of achievements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Uncensored Library</span> Minecraft server and map containing banned reporting

The Uncensored Library is a Minecraft server and map released by Reporters Without Borders and created by BlockWorks, DDB Berlin, and Media.Monks as an attempt to circumvent censorship in countries without freedom of the press. The library contains banned reporting from Mexico, Russia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Belarus, Brazil, and Eritrea. An entire wing is given to each country, each containing several banned articles. The library was released on March 12, 2020, the World Day Against Cyber Censorship. The two ways to access the library are to download a map from the official website, or to connect to their Minecraft server.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "China". Reporters Without Borders. 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "China's pressure and propaganda - the reality of reporting Xinjiang". BBC News. 15 January 2021. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Schlesinger, David; Henochowicz, Anne; Wang, Yaqiu (17 March 2016). "Why Xi Jinping's Media Controls Are 'Absolutely Unyielding'". Foreign Policy . Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "2020 World Press Freedom Index: "Entering a decisive decade for journalism, exacerbated by coronavirus" | RSF". rsf.org. 19 April 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Zhang, Laney (8 June 2019). "Limits on Freedom of Expression". Library of Congress . Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  6. 1 2 Russo, Alessandro (2020). Cultural Revolution and Revolutionary Culture. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 148. doi:10.2307/j.ctv15kxg2d. ISBN   978-1-4780-1218-4. JSTOR   j.ctv15kxg2d. OCLC   1156439609.
  7. ↑ "How China trains its journalists to report "correctly"" . The Economist . 20 July 2023. ISSN   0013-0613. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "China : Even tighter control". Reporters Without Borders . 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "China is the world's worst jailer of journalists, CPJ says". Radio Free Asia . 19 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "One Country, One Censor: How China undermines media freedom in Hong Kong and Taiwan". Committee to Protect Journalists . 16 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "Press Freedom Continues to Face Setbacks in China". Voice of America . 3 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "How China is limiting freedom of the press in Hong Kong". PBS NewsHour. 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  13. ↑ "Wikipedia blocked in China in all languages". BBC News . 14 May 2019. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  14. ↑ "China Gets Worst Ever Score in Global Press-Freedom Survey". Time . 28 April 2016. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

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