China

25 October 2006

Chinese media chiefs ordered to toe the line

China's leaders have hauled in 450 of the nation's media chiefs to order them to more closely toe the government line and step up their allegiance to the Communist Party, state press said on Wednesday. Chinese President Hu Jintao and other party leaders, including propaganda czar Li Changchun, met with the media chiefs at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday to reinforce the message...

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21 October 2006

Chinese Court Frees Convicted Journalist

BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese court has freed a journalist convicted of extortion for exposing local corruption but has refused to overturn his guilty verdict, his wife said Saturday. The Intermediate People's Court in the southern city of Shaoyang ordered Yang Xiaoqing released on bail last month after he served seven months of a one-year sentence, said his wife, Gong Jie. Last Tuesday, the court...

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20 October 2006

Court orders journalist freed but stops short of quashing his conviction

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has hailed the news that Yang Xiaoqing, a journalist based in Longhui in the southern province of Hunan, has been released as a result of a court decision in the nearby city of Shaoyang, on 17 October 2006. Detained since 22 January, Yang had been serving a one-year sentence for alleged extortion. "Guilty but free - this decision is a half-measure that fails to cover up the fact...

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17 October 2006

Web TV lights foreign media's hopes for China

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's first foray into Web TV is a chance for foreign players like News Corp. to grab a slice of the world's second-largest Internet market, but winning official approval in a tightly-controlled market will be tough. Chinese regulations have so far limited foreign companies to small pockets of the country's satellite TV market. But firms are now eyeing Internet Protocol...

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12 October 2006

Journalism fellowship keeps Yahoo money despite criticism

A journalism fellowship at Stanford University will keep a $1 million grant from Yahoo Inc. despite criticism of the company’s decision to turn over information on journalists to Chinese authorities. The Yahoo money given to the John S. Knight Fellowship is slated to bring one journalist to campus each year for the next decade from countries where the news media is restricted. Some former Knight...

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19 September 2006

Chinese editors fired after 'unpatriotic' survey

Two senior editors at a Nasdaq-listed Chinese internet portal have been fired after an online survey revealed deep discontent among their fellow citizens. More than 65 per cent of Chinese respondents to the survey would choose to be born in another country if they could live their lives over again, the poll at Netease.com indicated. Chief news editor Tang Yan and chief commentary editor Liu...

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17 September 2006

China says Xinhua control a transitional arrangement

Pushed on the backfoot over its decision on new controls over the distribution of news, photographs and graphics by foreign news agencies, China has called it is only a "transitional arrangement" and a government department would eventually take over the responsibility. GIVEN A BAD NAME AND INCARCERATED: Protesters hold placards featuring a portrait of Straits Times correspondent Ching Cheong...

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15 September 2006

China: Newspaper draws line as cartoonist breaks taboo

A NEWSPAPER cartoonist has dared to defy a taboo on depictions of China’s leaders — and has had his wrist slapped. Kuang Biao, who works for the News Express in the southern city of Guangzhou, has been suspended for a month for his cartoon, which showed a weeping Hu Jintao, the Chinese President. Mr Kuang is allowed to continue to draw — but only under a pseudonym. He told The Times that he always...

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12 September 2006

Press groups criticise China curbs on foreign news

BEIJING, Sept 12 (Reuters) - International press groups denounced new Chinese curbs on the dissemination of foreign news as a step backwards ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when thousands of journalists will descend on the country's capital. The official Xinhua news agency announced rules on Sunday requiring foreign media to seek its approval with immediate effect to distribute news, pictures...

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11 September 2006

China clamps down on foreign news agencies

China has announced new controls over the distribution of news, photographs and graphics by foreign news agencies, further restricting foreign access to the already tightly regulated Chinese media market. The new measures took effect immediately upon being issued by the government's Xinhua News Agency. WALLPAPER: A man reads a wall newspaper in Beijing. China has released new rules governing the...

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