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Why Reporting on CCTV Complex Fire Censored?
By chinafreepress.org (translation)
Feb 10, 2009 - 10:11:28 AM

Why Reporting on CCTV Complex Fire Censored?

China Free Press via Boxun reports that the Lantern Festival Eve fire in Beijing's new China Central Television (CCTV) complex resulted in more than 4 billion yuan (US$588 million) in damages, in addition to the loss of one firefighter and numerous injuries from smoke inhalation. What has greatly alarmed CCTV executives and Communist Party officials is the delight Chinese netizens seem to be taking in the boondoggle project's misfortune. The majority of messages being posted online as the fire was still blazing stated sentiments like "It should have been torched much sooner!" and "Ardent congratulations!"

As of midnight on Tuesday February 10 there was still little official reporting on the blaze, while online speculation was rife. Many netizens are suggesting that one possible motive could be the rumored looting of the construction site of large amounts of construction materials. The speculation is that the fire was deliberately set to cover-up the large-scale looting. This would explain the seemingly slow response to the fire and the unusual fact that the hole hotel and cultural center tower went up in flames.

There is an increasingly mounting call online for CCTV bosses to accept blame and resign over the tragedy.

Full Chinese report at: http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2009/02/200902101045.shtml

© Copyright 2009 by Boxun News