Controversial Chinese Paper Issues List Of Top 5 Stories Deleted By Censors In 2012

Jan 202013
 

The Southern Weekly, a Chinese newspaper, which irked the authorities recently by taking on the state censors is again pushing boundaries, this time it has released a list of the five best stories of 2012 that had been suppressed  – it is a list that was of course soon censored.

Ezine Shanghai List published photos that were posted on Weibo by Weekly staff that gave a synopsis of each story.

Shanghai List’s Tom Bannister provides this report.

Although the controversial newspaper has resumed publishing, and free-speech protests have fizzled out, the Southern Weekly continues to relish prodding and poking Beijing’s hardliners.

At the newspaper’s annual meeting Friday, an occasion where there was no doubt rather a few pressing issues to discuss, staff awarded prizes to the five best stories that had been censored last year. A journalist at the newspaper posted photos of the synopsis of each of the winning stories on Weibo. This was then forwarded by thousands of other users before the posts were, rather appropriately, deleted by censors.

The top five stories that won the awards were:

1) A feature story about the ‘rational’ youngsters who refused to get involved in the anti-Japanese protests in September.

Nanfang-zhoumo-awards-anti-japanese.JPG

2) An article about the 79 victims killed as a result of heavy rain in Beijing in the summer.

Nanfang-zhoumo-awards-beijing rainstorm.JPG

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Expensive Wrist Watch Helps Prompts Internet Vigilantes To Report Suspected Corruption.

Dec 162012
 

In the internet age it is not wise to flaunt expensive personal items that cost more than your annual salary. Lanzhou mayor, Yuan Zhanting, found this out recently when he made the mistake of being photographed on a number of occasions  and each time he was wearing a different expensive wrist watch.

Two university students who noticed the mayor’s taste for pricey timepieces wondered how he could afford them on an official’s salary.

He is now being investigated. It was either the height of arrogance or stupidity because earlier this year another official Xian bureau chief Yang Dacai was similarly caught with high end watches. At the time Yang said “over the past ten years or so I have indeed bought five watches. I purchased them at different times, using my legitimate income to buy them”.

However his superiors were not buying the “if you put a little away each day how soon it builds up” line of argument. He was later fired.

Zhanting may be joining Yang at the local employment office soon in another triumph for the “human flesh engine search” – a remarkably effective form of internet vigilantism where netizens trawl the web for evidence of wrong doing, particularly corruption and then post the findings.

lanzhou_mayor-3.jpg

One of the few lessons I remember from journalism school (many years ago) was always ignore the clothes and check out the watch, pen and shoes. These three items are often a good indication of a persons character and integrity. A low paid government official who is sporting a $10,000 Rolex, Gucci shoes and a Mont Blanc pen at the same time as claiming to be poor is probably not the most trustworthy of people.

Business suits can be rented or borrowed but not watches, pens or shoes.

 

China’s Policy Of Censorship Key Part Of Leadership Upset

Nov 042012
 

Reports from Hong Kong media and the blogosphere in China are talking of a radical upset in next weeks change of leadership with hardliners looking to take control of the seven member standing committee.

The return to the failed policies of the past would be disastrous for China economically, socially and politically but the insistence of the current regime to suppress dissent and censor criticism, not for the oft quoted reasons of social stability, but to hide their grubby secrets which range from gross self enrichment to somewhat bizarre sexual behaviors has opened the door for hardliners and anti-reformists to take control.

It is a squandered opportunity. China’s emerging middle class have embraced new technology and the country could have been a world leader and innovator in the use of social media to usher in peaceful social reform if the leadership had really wanted it.

The hardliners are now an attractive alternative  because they offer a return to a time of supposed political stability under Jiang Zemin. It is his appointees who are at the forefront of the move.

It is naive to expect moral decisions from more than a minority of those who wield power. But self interest of the kind that looks further than the next corrupt deal or squalid sexual dalliance should have motivated China’s current leadership at all levels to have tried to secure the recent reforms in place and not allow the door to be opened to the lunatic failed communist past.

The attraction of instant gratifications means the leadership ignored that danger and have blindly gone about illicitly enriching themselves and their families at the same time using the country’s draconian censorship apparatus to hide this malfeasance from the rest of s0ciety.

Instead of grabbing the opportunity of creating a vibrant open and involved society with China’s widespread adoption of the internet and social media, the leadership instead suppressed information and quietly made a fortune.

It is hardly surprising the average Chinese worker is unamused by this sort of behavior which leads to the threat of the greatly feared social upheaval. And well it should be feared. When the communists came to power the first people up against the wall and shot were the officials who had been enriching themselves at the country’s expense.

This is a case of “same meat different gravy”. The titular communists may be in power but they are behaving like their capitalist forebears and could well meet a similar fate.

In this uncertainty it is hardly a shock that the consensus will be to look for a safe haven and the only one on offer is a retreat into the past.

The problem with a blunt instrument like censorship is that it never works. Word gets out sooner or later and recently it has spread far and wide from the Bo Xilai debacle to the more recent revelations about billions of dollars accumulated by  Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and his family revealed  by the New York Times just over a week ago.

But it is hardly new. Former British diplomat Hugh Cortazzi  in May this year wrote about the 3000 Chinese princlings, the children of high ranking officials currently attending grotesquely expensive British schools and universities.

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Chinese Bloggers Expose More High Level Corruption – Netizens Advance The Rule Of Law

Oct 252012
 

Chinese netizens are managing to do what the authorities including the police, state security apparatus and the ruling communist party’s internal disciplinary bodies cannot or will not do – expose corruption.

In what is becoming a regular and hopefully growing trend Chinese officials have been forced to launch an investigation after microbloggers uncovered another high ranking official with millions of dollar in property and assets.

Quoting state media, wire service AFP, said the Southern Guangzhou city will investigate urban management official Cai Bin, 56, who has 21 homes valued at 40 million yuan ($6.4 million), Xinhua news agency reported.

Cai, who earns about 10,000 yuan a month, failed to report all his holdings as required by the state, the report said.

Nothing as to how this vast wealth was obtained by a man on such a modest salary. Perhaps it a case of putting a little aside each month and watching how quickly it builds up; alternately  Cai is a corrupt, thieving villain who deserves everything coming to him. It is a matter for the courts to decide. But one thing is certain – it will not be swept under the carpet.

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Another Example Of Pointless Media Censorship In China

Sep 212012
 

And just what purpose does hiding this from the public serve?

Urgent Notice from the Liaoning Provincial Department of Propaganda: Do not conduct interviews, report or comment on the case of City Party Secretary leaving the country without authorization. (August 26, 2012)

辽宁省委宣传部紧急通知：对辽宁凤城市委书记王国强擅自离境一事，不采访，不报道，不评论。

The CDT says that according to Radio France Internationale [zh], Wang Guoqiang is rumored to have fled the country with a large sum of money to evade a investigation. He is thought to have siphoned funds from heating bills. Since bought the local thermoelectric plant, the city has gone without heat for two winters, while still charging residents for “maintenance.”

My guess is trying to hide this has done nothing for the public and a lot of damage to the authorities already tatty reputation. It may have been a vain attempt to save some officials embarrassment or awkward questions but did the authors of this directive really think no-one was going to notice they were freezing and and man in charge of keeping them warm had disappeared with a load of cash?

If you have a censorship policy because you believe it is necessary to protect social harmony then it needs to be used sparingly and with caution. Once it becomes nothing but a tool for the crooked, the weak or the incompetent to hide their faults then social harmony is heading out the door passing social upheaval making its way in.

Subversive China New Years’ Video Card Circulating On The Net

Jan 242011
 

This is a vivid and timely reminder that there are many people in China aware of the censorship, corruption and human rights abuses they face. And they are not happy.

While the following video will not be to everyones taste it does show just how angry some people in China are.

This is from ChinaGeeks, a website offering translations and analysis of events in China today.

Be warned this animated cartoon is not suitable for children. 

Subversive Chinese New Years Video

Translation

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Old Style Censorship Still Working In Vietnam

Oct 282010
 

While cyber censorship and monitoring tends to get the most coverage these days it is worth remembering that the old fashioned ways of suppressing free speech are alive and well in some of the world’s more restrictive regimes.

The BBC reports that Vietnam has suspended two newspapers for writing critical accounts of the countries new style bank notes.

It quotes The ministry of culture as saying ”the two papers published inaccurate information about alleged mistakes in the notes.

It says the papers ignored government instructions to stop making the claims.

Vietnam is rapidly replacing its paper money with notes made from plastic polymers because it claims the move will save the country money.

Electronic News You Can Use (and how to get to it)

Mar 142010
 

Some countries block access to the RFA  and other Web sites  which provide independant and impartial information for readers. But you do not need to be deprived of access to reporting and opinions that the authorities do not agree with. Here  people can learn how to use a proxy server, or subscribe to an e-newsletter bringing news directly to your email bypassing the censors.

Now if you are reading this on the RFA site it is unlikely you are subject to censorship but others are not so lucky. Please find a way to pass this information on to people and communities not so fortunate so that everyone can have access to the knowledge that belongs to everyone.

Also check out the blog on the “guardian phone“. This fantastic project promises to be a key protection for journalists, academics, activists and all those people who antagonize the authorities by exercising their right  of free speech in their own countries.

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RFA Daily News Summary Wednesday March, 10, 2010

Mar 112010
 

This a summary of stories being carried on Radio Free Asia today March 10, 2010. Please use the links to go directly to the relevant RFA language website to listen to the stories or read original language transcripts. Some items are translated into English and are available on RFA’s English language page.

If there are stories that you want to hear more about or you would like to see covered we would love to hear from you. If you have a story to tell we will listen. RFA’s main page has contact details for all the language services.

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North Korea: Normality, Hope Amidst the Perms and Lunacy

Feb 012010
 

When the cover of The Economist magazine featured Kim Jong II with his permed hair and the caption “Greetings Earthlings,” it seemed to aptly sum up the world’s view of North Korea. It has the image of being so isolated and different that it may as well be from another planet.

But that popular image is based on the leadership and the policies of those at the top. There is no question Kim Jong Il and his cronies are corrupt, dangerous, isolated, or in some cases simply mad.

The infrastructure of the country is in tatters even as the leadership pursues the acquisition of nuclear weapons. People starve while resources are poured into long-range missiles.

But there is a different North Korea, not centered on Pyongyang but rather the rural communities that make up the bulk of the country. Continue reading »

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