China: Shaken not Stirred

Seismic Suppression: Chinese Censorship After the Sichuan Earthquake

by John J. Tkacik, Jr.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/wm1971.cfm

Those who thought that the devastating Sichuan earthquake of May 12
brought out the best in the Chinese government should think again.

Six weeks after the quake, it has become obvious that the local
government's incompetence and venality was responsible for the
collapse of schools while other buildings stood. But now that foreign
reporters are covering the deaths of school children and the
subsequent angry protests of their parents, Beijing's Central
Propaganda Department has reverted to its dictum that the only news
fit to print is pro-regime news.

In order to suppress unfavorable news coverage, the Chinese government
has adopted a two-pronged approach. First, Beijing has attacked the
source of dissent, threatening any grieving parents who persisted in
their protests. Second, the government has embarked on an extensive
campaign of media censorship.

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