MCLC: international reach of Chinese censorship

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: pjmooney <pjmooney at me.com>
Subject: international reach of Chinese censorship
*********************************************************

Source: Freedom House (10/22/13):
http://www.freedomhouse.org/article/new-report-shows-growing-international-
reach-chinese-media-censorship

New Report Shows Growing International Reach of Chinese Media Censorship

October 22, 2013 ­ Chinese Communist Party media controls are increasingly
constraining news outlets based outside China. This is the key finding of
a report 
<http://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/CIMA-China_Sarah%20Cook_10_22_
13.pdf> released today, authored by Freedom House research analyst Sarah
Cook and published by the Center for International Media Assistance at the
National Endowment for Democracy.

³The dynamics are subtle, but the reality is that the ŒChina Factor¹
exists in newsrooms around the world, be they internationally renowned
outlets such as the New York Times and Bloomberg, a local newspaper in
Nepal, or a Chinese radio station in Los Angeles,² said Cook. ³The Chinese
government¹s efforts to influence reporting by foreign and overseas
Chinese news outlets have intensified and expanded over the past five
years.² 

The new report -- The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship: How Chinese Media
Restrictions Affect News Outlets around the World -- examines this
phenomenon across foreign and Chinese-language media outlets based outside
mainland China and that reach audiences worldwide.

The study finds that Chinese officials have directly impeded independent
reporting by media based abroad, barring foreign correspondents from sites
of important incidents or pressuring senior executives not to publish
content deemed politically undesirable to the regime.

More prevalent‹and often more effective‹are methods of control that subtly
induce self-censorship among media owners and outlets. Indirect pressure
has also been applied via proxies‹including advertisers, satellite firms,
and foreign governments. These international actors have boycotted
disfavored outlets, cut transmission signals, or arrested activists
disseminating news critical of the Chinese Communist Party.

The content targeted for censorship includes topics that may have global
implications, such as human rights abuses, high-level corruption, and
environmental pollution. Most frequently targeted are reports that touch
³hot button² issues like the persecution of Tibetans, Uighurs, and Falun
Gong practitioners, as well as Chinese-language commentary challenging the
legitimacy of one-party rule.

Despite these trends, there are clear limits to Beijing¹s influence.
Journalists, activists, owners, and independent courts outside China have
pushed back against pressure and scored some important victories. The
result is a complex, nuanced, and ever-changing negotiation over where the
³red line² lies.

³Much is at stake in this global contest between the Chinese government¹s
power and media freedom,² said Cook. ³China is too important a country for
the world not to be fully aware of what is happening on the ground and for
Chinese people to lose vital sources of independent information and
commentary.² 

Key findings by media type·    International media: Chinese authorities
employ various measures to obstruct frontline journalists and retaliate
against news companies for critical reports. Physical attacks, visa
restrictions, and website blocks have increased, while cyberattacks have
expanded from individual journalists to the global servers of leading
outlets.

Offshore Chinese media: Chinese officials have taken especially forceful
measures to obstruct the operations of media outlets run by
independent-minded Chinese expatriates and that collectively reach
audiences numbering in the millions within China. In several cases,
foreign companies and event organizers‹ranging from Apple to Eutelsat to
NASDAQ‹have assisted government efforts to obstruct reporting and content
dissemination. 

Local media in Asia, Africa, and Latin America: Local government
officials, particularly in Asia, have occasionally taken steps to restrict
or punish reporting that is damaging to China¹s reputation, either at the
behest of Chinese officials or to preemptively avoid tensions with a large
donor and trading partner. In Africa and Latin America, promoting the
Chinese government¹s view appears to be the dominant tactic for
influencing the public. As Chinese government-linked entities buy stakes
in local media, self-censorship pressures could emerge.

Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora: Co-opting owners of media
outlets in order to marginalize dissenting reporting and commentary has
been a key strategy. Beijing¹s efforts to influence newsroom decisions in
Hong Kong have intensified, expanding to topics touching on the
territory¹s internal politics. In Taiwan, self-censorship on topics deemed
sensitive to Beijing is increasing, as media owners seek new sources of
revenue from mainland entities.

Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports
democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and
advocates for democracy and human rights.

Join us on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/FreedomHouseDC> and Twitter
<http://twitter.com/freedomhousedc> (freedomhousedc) and stay up to date
with Freedom House¹s latest news and events
<http://www.freedomhouse.org/news> by signing up for our RSS feeds
<http://www.freedomhouse.org/news/feed>, newsletter
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6580/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?
signup_page_KEY=2061> and our blog <http://www.freedomhouse.org/blog>.