2012 US Election and 18th PC

18th PC http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/world/asia/jiang-zemin-ex-leader-of-china-asserts-sway-over-top-posts.html?_r=0

Media Politics

Media Politics: Monitors

China Digital Times http://chinadigitaltimes.net/

China Media Project http://cmp.hku.hk/

Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Liu Xiaobo “God’s present to China” “The internet has made it easier to obtain

information, contact the outside world and submit articles to overseas media. It is like a super-engine that makes my writing spring out of a well. The internet is an information channel that the Chinese dictators cannot fully censor, allowing people to speak and communicate, and it offers a platform for spontaneous organisation.”

China Urges Europeans to Boycott Nobel Ceremony (NY Times 11/5/10) Nicholas Bequelin

“The police know these people are not going to cause the collapse of the Communist Party, but this is all about information control.”

Media expansion7

TV and radio Approx. 1,000 TV stations

Print 2,035 newpapers (2003) (Liebman, p. 17)

Internet 513 million internet users as of 2012

Rapid increase 42% increase 2008 over 2007

Largest # of users in world as of 2008 World’s largest internet market

Media: Pluralist or Corporatist?

8

How autonomous is traditional media? How autonomous is the Internet?

Internet idealists vs. Internet pessimists

Addressing the debates9

State control capacity Xiao Qiang on traditional and new media

argues that print and broadcast media are more constrained but that the internet is much less so.

“Rising public opinion through online forums and blogs…are remaking the public agenda.”

“Newfound freedoms have developed in spite of stringent government efforts to control the medium… seriously eroding the party-state censorship mechanism.”

Addressing the debate10

Commercialization Daniel Lynch (1999), Bruce Gilley (2004)

argue that media commercialization has allowed for the loosening of the CCP's control

Zhao Yuezhi (1998), Ashley Esarey (2005) argue that media commercialization has only changed the forms of control utilized by the CCP

Reporters Without Borders’ 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index places China at 159 out of 167 countries

358 TV stations and 2,119 newspapers

http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/imprisoned_06/imprisoned_06.html

Bringing evidence to the debates

Case study12

Sun Zhigang case

Landmark eventnow

memorialized in the unofficial “Museum of

Peasant Labor” in Beijing.

“He died for us.”

Sun Zhigang case

Background Household

registration system (internal passport system)

Rural migrant workers require temporary resident permits to reside in cities

Apartheid like system Abused by employers

Sun Zhigang

Personal details 27-year college graduate in graphic

design from Wuhan who went to Guangzhou to work

Picked up by police upon entering Internet café because he didn’t have a temporary residence permit or ID with him

Called friend to bring his ID

15

Sun Zhigang

“Custody and Repatriation ( 收容遣送 ) Center In principle for homeless beggars

Authorized by State Council regulations Used to harass migrant workers

Extort fines Detain in squalid conditions

16

Sun Zhigang

Circumstances Sun beaten to death in detention center (March

2003) Likely for challenging detention

Media as (extra-legal) recourse Parents notified of death three days later Parents personally sought explanation from

government bureaus in Guangzhou—with no results Went to Nanfang Dushi Bao (Southern Metropolitan

Daily) when they couldn’t get answers Reported story (April 2003)

17

Sun Zhigang

Internet as (extra-legal) recourse Web sites picked up story Led to outrage on bulletin boards, in chat

rooms

Public discussion of “Custody and Repatriation System”

18

Sun Zhigang

Citizen petition to National People’s Congress on constitutionality three individuals with Ph.D. degrees in law

from Beijing University re-examine the constitutionality of the 1982

“Measures for the Custody of Repatriation of Vagrant Beggars in the Cities.” Administrative Punishment Law, Legislature Law

deprivation of a citizen’s freedom can be done only by laws passed by the National People’s Congress or its Standing Committee.

Not State Council or provincial regulations

19

Shourong Qiansong system abolished and replaced by milder Measures for Internment and Deportation of Urban Vagrants and Beggars—not for migrant workers

What is behind the abolition?

Media and internet!

C&R regulations abolished June 2003However, NO reference to constitutionality

Sun Zhigang

Subsequent results Those directly involved in Sun Zhigang’s

beating death were tried in criminal court and sentenced to death (sentence commuted to life in prison)

Editors of Southern Metropolis Daily ( 南方都市报） subsequently removed from their positions on trumped up corruption charges

22

Bringing Evidence to the DebatesRegulatory Framework

Background: Symbolic commitment to press freedom, free expression24

PRC Constitution Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens Article 35

Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 19

Freedom to seek, receive, impart information and ideas China has signed but not ratified

What difference does this make—if any? Southern Weekend reference to int’l coventions p. 61

Corporatist Controls:Entities Involved in Internet Regulation25

• Central Propaganda Department • Department of Commerce • Department of Telecommunications • General Administration of Press and Publications • Ministry of Culture • Ministry of Information Industry • Ministry of Public Security • Public Security Bureau • State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television • State Council • State Council Information Agency • State Secrets Bureau

Corporatist and other controls

26

Corporatist controls on the media and internet Standard controls

Party membership Nomenklatura of the Central Propaganda

Department (replicated at lower levels) CCTV, People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency

Double-hatting Central Propaganda Department instructions Propaganda circulars (PCs), specific

instructions on how to handle sensitive topics or specific news stories for the media. Content must come directly from national media

organizations like Xinhua, People’s Daily, or CCTV

Corporatist and other controls

27

General Administration of Press and PublicationRegistration

Newspapers, Internet Service Providers Government sponsor—held responsible Provide identity papers for editorial and technical

staff Reporters

Examination and licensing by state

Corporatist and other controlsPolicing Special police unit Fines, shutdowns,

detentions, arrests*stiff fines for

violations* more than 60

Chinese serving prison sentences for Internet-based political crimes (HRW ’05)

28

A public security official examines the identity of a Chinese surfer at an internet café (Lagerkvist 2010)

Corporatist and other controls

29

Content Self monitoring

Must monitor content, prevent publication of prohibited material, remove and report any prohibited materials

Restricted content and likely targets Threatens the unity, sovereignty, geographical integrity

of the state Uighurs, Indep East Turkestan; Tibetans; Taiwanese

Reveals state secrets, threatens state security, or harms national interests state regulation

Propagates superstitution falungong

Harms racial unity Threatens social morality pornography

Corporatist and other controls

30

Limitations “state secrets”

Vague, ill-defined Allows government discretion, manipulation

1997 Penal Code Article 105: penalizing those subverting the political

power of the state Public Security Administration Punishment Law

Article 25: detention of citizens spreading rumors that disturb public order

Jinan flood (Summer 2007)

Corporatist and other controls General Administration of Press and

Publication government's main regulator of the press March 10, 2010

restrict media coverage of politically sensitive events limit uncontrolled news reporting on China's fast-growing

Internet.

new qualification exam for aspiring journalists test them on their knowledge of

Chinese Communist Party journalism" and Marxist views of news. Journalists who do not pass the exam will not be

allowed to apply for a job in the news industry.

Media commercialization: Incentives to push the boundaries or to self-censor? 32

Financial incentives Institutional

Circulation, advertising Individual journalist

Salary linked publications (must get past censors)

Regular re-licensing Relationship to censors

A Banner Too Far: Bao Tong on the 17th Party Congress (Oct ’07)

33

“Why is it that the crucial roles played by the media and the creative arts, that of exposing the dark side of our society, are now regarded as the epitome of treason, and are being choked off, one by one? Why has the publications inspection system which caused Marx such a headache been turned by Communist Party leaders into the art of maintaining power?

These and so many other similar questions are studiously avoided by the documents of the 17th Party Congress. They aren't raised, they aren't analyzed, and they aren't answered. The documents don't answer the question of how to turn this country into a genuine republic, not just in name only; neither do they address the question of how to ensure that ordinary citizens genuinely have the right to exercise state power.

He wrote this essay, broadcast by Radio Free Asia's Mandarin service, from his Beijing home, where he has lived under house arrest since his release from jail in the wake of the 1989 student movement:

Bringing evidence to the debates

Case studies34

Bringing Evidence to the Debates

Wenchuan Earthquake

Media coverage: freedom vs. control following the Wenchuan Earthquake Unprecedented “freedom” in early

media coverage Natural—not man-made disaster Sheer magnitude of the event

Initial break-down of standard controls Subsequent loosening Reassertion of control

Media coverage: freedom vs. control following the Wenchuan Earthquake

Media outlets under dual controls Chinese Communist Party—sets content

guidelines Politburo Propaganda Department

Chinese Government—controls licensing State Council General Administration of Press and Publication

Media coverage: freedom vs. control following the Wenchuan Earthquake Jobs on the line

Personal responsibility for failures in censorship Editors removed

Beijing News 2005 Papers closed

“Freezing Point” 2006

Only one instance in immediate earthquake aftermath

New Travel Weekly (Chongqing) Publication suspended Editor removed

Media coverage: freedom vs. control following the Wenchuan Earthquake

“Propaganda circulars” Specific instructions on how to handle sensitive

topics or specific news stories Content from New China News Agency (ex: train

derailment) May 12: “No media is allowed to send reporters

to the disaster zone.” Editors recalled reporters or did not dispatch

reporters Some reporters went as individuals no byline

Oriental Morning Post (Shanghai) 东方早报 Others led to “collective resistance” to prohibition

May 14: “Reporters going to the disaster zone must move about with rescue team.”

Media coverage: freedom vs. control

Reassertion of controls Party-state promoted

Celebration of Premier Wen Jiabao

People’s Daily front page 1 week later

Government authority in quake zone

Liberation Daily front page May 21, 2008

Get back to work Sensitive issues

suppressed Allegations of corruption

in school construction Violent protests against

local governments by parents of lost children

Media coverage: freedom vs. control following the Wenchuan Earthquake Role of the

Internet Unseemly that

the Olympic torch should continue in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake

Policy reversed

Nationalism in the media: Double-edged sword

Tremendous national spirit “Go China!” 加油中国 ! Ex: Donations

Money, blood, volunteer efforts

Anti-foreign sentiment MacDonald’s

Criticized for paltry donation to relief effort

Minister of Commerce Chen Deming

Defending foreign corporations in China

Note also internet criticisms of Chinese corporations

Attempts to Promote Trust in Government and Political Legitimacy through the Media

Trust in the central government

Distrust in local government

5 月 13 日 “我是温家宝爷爷，孩子们一定要挺住…”May 13 “ I’m Grandpa Wen Jiabao. Children [you] must

hold on…”

Bringing Evidence to the Debates

Case: Xiamen PX Factory

Xiamen PX Factory

PX Chemical Factory—relocated Citizens in Xiamen

Worried about air pollution, smokestacks, poisonous gas

Let’s collectively take a walk, maybe we will meet a mayor who listens.

Bringing Evidence to the Debates

Case: Shanghai Maglev Extension

Shanghai Maglev Extension Case Citizens protest maglev

extension January 6, 2008 Middle class homeowners

Texting: collectively taking a walk 集体散步

Blogging Video posted on internet

Subsequently banned by Internet police

Southern Metropolis Daily (newspaper) only Chinese media that

reported this incident

Shanghai Maglev Extension Case

Citizen blog post Mr. Zhou [a member of

Shanghai government's evaluation team] mentioned ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) and said that this organization has reported that this is harmless and that is harmless. This is really strange. We ordinary citizens can also read English. What we have seen in ICNRP documents details all kinds of harmful effects of electric and magnetic radiation. A lot of research, including biological research and volunteered human subjects research, all showed enormous risks in such an environment.

Shanghai Maglev Extension Case Southern Metropolis Daily

‘Two days ago, the plan for the western extended line of the Maglev project began to be publicized. In order to peacefully express themselves, residents along the line came to People’s Square and expressed their opinion about Maglev line passing through their own neighborhood using the method of “taking a walk” and “shopping.” Citizens say: this is one way to express opinions.’

Shanghai Maglev Extension Case Shanghai government’s

official media site: EastNet “There are people who

want Shanghai in chaos. Now, some foreigners are playing up the Maglev project, spreading some malicious rumors. Some domestic people also follow them to make a fuss. Goodhearted people must not to fall into their trap.”

Shanghai Maglev Extension Case http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=mUXGiuydqiM&feature=player_embedded

Project withdrawn Note: project also opposed by Ministry of

Railways