Beijing tightening grip on press: experts

The Beijing government is becoming increasingly creative in restraining the free hand of the press and particularly in suppressing political criticism, according to He Qinglian, former editor of the Shenzhen Legal Daily and author of “China’s Pitfalls.”

In line with a policy instituted in 1999 by President Jiang Zemin, non-political reasons are often applied to denounce journalists who file reports that displease the government, said He, who fled China in June 2001 fearing detention.

Political leaders unhappy with media criticism of corruption within the government, but not wanting to be seen to block coverage of such a high-profile topic, have denounced and even jailed journalists on unrelated charges, according to He.

One journalist in Shanxi, reporting on government corruption, was himself jailed for 13 years on corruption charges, another in Beijing reporting economic news was charged with economic crimes, while a third reporting on prostitution was charged for “engaging with prostitutes,” she said.

“In a democratic country the media is expected to criticize the government. In China it’s exactly the opposite, it’s the government that criticizes the media,” she said.

There is a popular misconception in the West, according to He, that the advent of the Internet ought to lead to greater freedom of expression and easier access to information for the average mainlander. “Actually, the situation is not like this at all,” she said.

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All Internet use in mainland China is centrally controlled and anyone who publishes content that in anyway upsets a government official can expect to be punished, said He. The government is spending vast sums of money in developing a so-called “golden shield,” which when completed in 2008, “will make China the greatest police state in the world,” she warned.

After months of being followed by security agents, having her home raided, her phone tapped and belongings seized, He left her apartment in Shenzhen, went to the bank and then directly to the airport, arriving in Princeton, New Jersey, two days later.

Also testifying before the commission was James Mann, former Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times and currently with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

In addition to his concerns over press freedoms inside mainland China, Mann spoke of his fear that U.S. foreign policy interests, commercial interests of international media corporations and “an unduly narrow focus on the rule of law” may unintentionally help perpetuate restrictions on press and intellectual freedom of expression.

With foreign media corporations, including some from Taiwan, lining up to enter the mainland market, Mann stressed that company executives should not agree to any form of censorship or government restrictions on Internet access.

Media companies need to “think about their larger missions, not just the balance sheets,” he said. While “executives need to be something other than flatterers for the regime when there are restrictions on the freedom of expression.”

Even Western academics are susceptible to the influence of the mainland government, in He’s opinion. Academic writing on China in the West lags five years behind the current reality, simply because Western scholars fear they may be denied a visa to enter the country or that research funding may be withheld, she said.

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