http://www.wan-press.org/china/articles.php?id=58

19.01.2008: "Free reporting would reveal many negative aspects of China, which would be very harmful to government. The Olympic Games motivate the authorities to care more about their image, and thus the Games might push them to go to even greater extents to prevent free reporting, especially when it comes to local media and Internet users," says Watson Meng, founding editor of Boxun News, a US-based website which has become one of the most important alternative Chinese news sources.

Since its launch in 2000, Boxun News ("Abundant News") publishes news and stories from China that rarely make it to the pages of the official Chinese press, and was for example the first to report about the Chinese SARS outbreak in 2003. Boxun News has been attacked by the Chinese authorities in a number of ways over the years, the most sever form being lengthy prison sentences handed to contributors to the website. Despite this constant threat, courageous people from all over China continue to send their stories to Boxun News.  In an interview with WAN, founding editor Watson Meng gives his views on the press freedom situation in China and tells about the work of Boxun News.

WAN: Could you briefly explain what the press freedom situation looks like in China today?
Watson Meng: State-owned media - TV, newspapers and news websites - are under total control and censored by the authorities. The media control is, however, not as effective as it used to be, since Internet users can receive and share information so easily now. But some Internet users and reporters are still in danger of arrest when they post sensitive information on the web.
 
WAN: With the Olympic Games coming up in August this year, where would you say that the Chinese stand in relation to the following statement made by them in their 'Beijing Olympic Action Plan': "In the preparation for the Games, we will be open in every aspect to the rest of the country and the whole world. We will draw on the successful experience of others and follow the international standards and criteria."
Watson Meng: Regulation does not mean much in China. Government institutions on different levels violate the laws and regulations set up by themselves on an almost daily basis. Since this statement was issued, foreign reporters have not been allowed to freely cover certain events. Free reporting would reveal many negative aspects of China, which would be very harmful to government. The Olympic Games motivate the authorities to care more about their image, and thus the Games might push them to go to even greater extents to prevent free reporting, especially when it comes to local media and Internet users. During the Olympics Games, petitioners* based in Beijing will be removed from the city, since they would make the city look "bad" to foreign visitors. The beggars will be removed as well.

WAN: What role does Boxun News play in distributing news both about and from within China?
Watson Meng: Boxun is a major Chinese news website, which relies mainly on citizen journalists. We publish breaking news every day, and some times on subjects such as SARS, the bird flu, serious accidents, etc. People in China know Boxun as a place where they can speak out, and many Chinese send information to us to publish on the website.

WAN: How do the Chinese authorities react on articles published on Boxun News?
Watson Meng: They can - and do - punish people who send us news if they manage to track down them down. (Editor's note: currently two people are in prison for having worked with Boxun News). On the other hand, local government officials in China are afraid of our reporting, as they risk losing their position if their wrong practices get reported on. They may also correct the wrong practice when they come under pressure. Last year, for instance, we reported on a case of an more than one thousand year old tree which was in danger of being cut down, and thanks to our reporting it was preserved. An important pollution incident (in Guangxi ) was reported by Associated Press after Boxun ran the story, and the dangerous factory was closed by order from Beijing.

WAN: Boxun News was recently the target of a hacker attack. What happened?
Watson Meng: The attack started two months ago. It happened in the form of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), which has become a regular way of attacking us on daily basis. On 27 December, hacker deleted the approximately 2000 blogs we host. We managed to recover them from our backup files, and finally lost data only between 24 and 27 December. This may be relevant in connection to the Olympic Games, as our reporting reveals many of the negative aspects of Chinese society, and many foreign reporters pay attention to our reporting when carrying out their own investigative reporting.
 
*Petitioners are ordinary people from other Chinese cities and provinces who have come to the capital to plead their case when they have not gained justice with the local authorities. They formed a village close to the High Chinese Court. The village was wiped out a few months ago and now many of the petitioners live in the streets, as shown on these pictures: http://www.canyu.org/n477c9.aspx