China: June 6, 2001

Archives

Top editors of a popular southern China newspaper were dismissed after government censors expressed displeasure at how the paper was exposing incompetence and corruption among government officials. The paper, Southern Weekend, saw circulation soar as the editors thought they had found a way to get around communist party censorship. The paper did not report scandals in their own area (to keep their local communist bosses happy) and never directly criticized the communist party. The scandal stories were popular readers and circulation soared. But officials in the regions being reported on complained to the central government and the senior censors ordered the communist functionaries responsible for the Southern Weekly to take care of things. While the internet is spreading more news of unrest and corruption, only about two percent of the population has internet access. Even with word of mouth, the internet based news only reaches, at most, a quarter of the population. The communist party controls the mass media (and is trying to clamp down on the internet) and will play rough with anyone in the mass media who does not toe the party line. In this case, the (communist) party line is that the party can do no wrong.

 

Article Archive

China: Current 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 


X

ad
0
20

Help Keep Us Soaring

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage. A contribution is not a donation that you can deduct at tax time, but a form of crowdfunding. We store none of your information when you contribute..
Subscribe   Contribute   Close