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For the first time, a Chinese reporter is daring to challenge state censors in the courts - she deserves our support The Chinese news media is tightly controlled. To make things worse, decisions by the censors are often arbitrary. Propaganda officials seldom explain to editors and publishers why one story must be deleted and why some reports are forbidden. There's no clear rule in this area, and all decisions are based on the officials' personal judgment. Chinese courts normally won't accept cases relating to the decisions by the propaganda officials, even if these decisions might destroy a publication and leave hundreds of people jobless. It is an open secret that media censorship is still one of the very few areas that are free from legal supervision. So it was brave of Cui Fang, a reporter working for China Business Post, to file a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Bureau of Press and Publications in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, accusing the Bureau of violating laws when it ordered a three-month suspension of the paper. In July, China Business Post published a story based on Cui Fang's investigation, reporting that a subsidiary of the Agricultural Bank of China in Hunan province breached regulations in writing off 4.61bn yuan (£387m) bad debt, an allegation the bank strongly denied. Two months later, China Business Post was suspended from publication for three months by a "superior administration" - believed to be the Bureau of Press and Publications. In her complaint, Cui demands the administration lift the suspension of China Business Post, issue a public apology and pay her a symbolic one yuan (9p) compensation. According to Zhou Ze, the lawyer representing Cui, a court in Hohhot (the capital of Inner Mongolia) is now assessing the lawsuit and will decide whether to accept it later. This case has attracted wide attention as it is the first time a journalist has challenged the censors through the courts. Most journalists and editors I talked to support Cui's decision, but doubt the case will be upheld by the court. But Cui's attempt to challenge the censors through the courts is the first time this legal loophole has been brought to the attention of the public. Hopefully a debate will follow. Nobody in China expects censorship to disappear because of this challenge, but if the censors are forced to hand out clear rules then some progress will have been made. Undoubtedly, this process will take a long time, since control of the media is something the Communist party won't give up easily. In the meantime, even if the court accepts her case, Cui faces the task of proving her reporting is correct. Some have speculated that the court will order her to give the names of her sources, several local bank officials. In her blog, Cui says it would be difficult to persuade those people to testify before the court. They would lose their jobs if they did. Cui is facing the double burden of challenging the censors as well as protecting her sources. She may be fighting a losing battle, but whatever the outcome, she deserves all our support. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/02/chinathemedia-pressandpublishing © Copyright 2008 by Boxun News Top of Page |
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