Sentido Global: China press p2

SentidoNews: China press p2...

Mr. Ching is actually accused of spying for foreign intelligence agencies, essentially for doing the work reporters do. His detention is an example of China's ongoing resistance to any uncomfortable revelations about its government or its policies.

Despite the heavy, nationwide and international criticism it incurred for attempts to obscure the outbreak of SARS, which led to deaths in a number of countries, and a resulting campaign to appear more tolerant, Chinese authorities have continued to attack and obstruct members of the press. With corruption rampant, often ranking among top concerns in polls, China's assault on the press clearly serves the interests of corrupt officials and those who seek only to retain a hold on power.

According to the BBC, China's "state-controlled Xinhua news agency said that in 2001, the Communist Party investigated more than 175,000 of its officials for corruption".

Revealing how China has pushed its war on press freedom, smokeless or not, further afield, a New York Times researcher, Zhao Yan, marked one year in custody on 16 September, imprisoned for revealing "state secrets". Astonishingly, Mr. Zhao is accused of nothing more than revealing to an American newspaper that Jiang Zemin would retire, before the official announcement.

Strange a national anti-press policy which also seeks to dictate at all times, on all issues, when precisely news will be revealed, even once it is already decided. China's officials quite simply wish to disallow useful information from reaching the public in a timely way. Through information, they seek to control and repress. [s]