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PRC¡¦s new rules could limit Chinese
reports on Taiwan
MEDIA RESTRICTIONS: Exchanges of articles among provincial outlets are
banned, and national or international stories must be state approved
By J. Michael Cole
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jul 23, 2010, Page 1
New regulations by China¡¦s Propaganda Department on
provincial and metropolitan news media could have serious implications for
investigative reporting and press freedom in the country, Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) said on Wednesday ¡X and could undermine the ability of Chinese
media to obtain information about Taiwan.
The latest restrictions reportedly include a ban on exchanges of newspaper
articles with media in other provinces, and a prohibition on media in
metropolitan areas carrying their own reporting on national or international
stories, or modifying the coverage of stories on such topics provided by
state-owned media.
It remains to be seen if the regulations would apply to Chinese media operating
in Taiwan.
At present, five regional Chinese media outlets operate in Taiwan. Reporters
from Fujian SETV, the Fujian Daily, Xiamen TV, Hunan Television, the Shenzhen
Special Zone Daily and the Shenzhen Economic Daily are posted here.
Five state-owned outlets ¡X Xinhua news agency, the People¡¦s Daily, China Network
Television, China National Radio and China News Service ¡X also have reporters
filing from Taiwan.
If the regulations are applied to Chinese media operating in Taiwan, the
regional media outlets based here could be barred from providing their reporting
to media in Chinese provinces, or media in metropolitan areas could be
prohibited from using reporting about Taiwan from sources other than state-owned
media, such as Xinhua.
The new regulations also include a call to cease all negative reporting about
the police and judicial authorities.
Hong Kong¡¦s Ming Pao newspaper said the new regulations were implemented on July
1.
Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Johnny Chiang (¦¿±Ò¦Ú) regrets the
ban.
¡§We hope every nation will respect freedom of the press. This is a value we have
upheld all along,¡¨ he said yesterday.
Asked if the restrictions would affect Taiwan-based correspondents, Chiang said
he didn¡¦t know, adding the GIO would never interfere in how Chinese journalists
portray Taiwan.
The Propaganda Department in four southern provinces, as well as in Beijing, has
issued warnings to the editors of the main liberal news media, RSF said.
Starting this month, Hunan Province newspapers have only carried dispatches from
Xinhua in their international news sections. Several editors in Beijing,
Guangdong and Shandong said they would stop exchanging articles with newspapers
in other provinces.
Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) chairman Yang Wei-chung (·¨°¶¤¤) said the
organization had noticed the Chinese government was placing more restrictions on
media and NGOs.
¡§We must join coordinated efforts to protest against this phenomenon,¡¨ Yang told
the Taipei Times by telephone. ¡§We know that many media workers in China are
trying to resist and we support them.¡¨
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