China Media Bulletin: Issue No. 28

 

State media struggle to enliven Hu's 'stability' speech

On July 1, China's President Hu Jintao gave a 72-minute speech in Beijing to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The address, which narrated episodes of the CCP's history, was considered "lethargic" by observers. While most state-run media outlets had difficulty generating upbeat headlines for Hu's speech, the CCP mouthpiece People's Daily created a 90-page special feature to celebrate the party's founding. According to the China Media Project, "perhaps the most notable thing about Hu's speech is its overriding emphasis on stability, with stability-related terms, buzzwords, and phrases appearing with greater frequency than seen in the past three Party anniversary reports." Together with an emphasis on Mao's political ideas, Hu used the term "stability" at least 10 times during the speech, which China Media Project experts interpreted as pointing to a shift away from liberalizing reforms in the party. Separately, on June 29, Chongqing municipal party chief Bo Xilai organized a red song concert in the megacity, for which the party mobilized 100,000 participants, including former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger.

* China Media Project 7/2/2011: Is Hu Jintao just buying time? <http://cmp.hku.hk/2011/07/02/13543>

* Xinhua 7/1/2011 (in Chinese): People's Daily's chief editor discloses details of 90 special newspaper spreads for Party's 90th anniversary <http://big5.home.news.cn/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2011-07/01/c_121608872.htm>
* Chongqing Evening News 6/30/2011 (in Chinese): Kissinger attends Chongqing "red song gala" <http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-06/30/c_121602838.htm>

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Official support props up vapid Communist film at box office

The Founding of a Party, a state-sponsored movie that celebrates the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, was released in late June in theaters in China and overseas. Within China, employees at state-run companies and students from elementary to university level are reportedly being sent to theaters to ensure the financial success of the historical epic, also known as The Beginning of the Great Revival, which at $12 million cost much more than other Chinese-made films. Despite featuring over 150 well-known Chinese movie stars, the film does not appear capable of drawing crowds on its own. In North America, the film has thus far grossed only about $132,000, according to Variety. A China Media Bulletin editor who went to see the film in New York found the theater nearly empty, and likened watching the drama to "skimming the timeline in the back of a history textbook, only more tedious and with less information." Countless historical figures appear on screen for a few seconds each, often with name captions that appear next to their heads, but inexpert viewers are left guessing why they are significant, what they believed, and how they fit into the bigger picture. According to the editor, even the film's cursory discussions of Communist Party ideology are "so vague as to be meaningless."

* New York Times 6/24/2011: People, you will see this film. Right now <https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/movies/chinese-get-viewers-to-propaganda-film-beyond-the-great-revival.html>
* Variety: Weekly box office Jul 1 - Jul 7, 2011 <http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=b_o_layout&dept=Film>

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NEW MEDIA / TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Web censors target Jiang Zemin death rumor

The man who presided over the creation of China's so-called Great Firewall has now become the latest subject of the sprawling online censorship apparatus. Since July 5, in an apparent effort to squelch rumors that former Chinese president Jiang Zemin had died, popular web portals have blocked searches and censors have deleted postings related to his name. His unexpected absence at the Chinese Communist Party's 90th anniversary celebrations on July 1 in Beijing had fueled speculation on his health, though Xinhua, the state-run news agency, denied on July 7 that he had passed away. Among the terms subjected to censorship were "Jiang," which means "river," as well as related terms like "death" and the name of the hospital where he was alleged to be a patient. China Media Bulletin editors found that these terms were unavailable on the microblogging site Sina Weibo and on the Baidu search engine's discussion forum, Tieba, though some filtered results appeared on the state-run search engine Panguso. Netizens have found various creative ways around the censorship, circulating photographs of an empty set of clothing hanging out to dry, or using terms like "former emperor" or "super-sovereign backstage ruler" to refer to Jiang. The degree of censorship itself, along with reports that internet gaming activities will be banned on July 8, have further fueled speculation that an official announcement of Jiang's death was imminent.

* Wall Street Journal 7/6/2011: Following Jiang death rumors, China's rivers go missing <http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/07/06/following-jiang-death-rumors-chinas-rivers-go-missing>
* Reuters 7/7/2011: Creative Chinese skirt censors to search for "Uncle Jiang" <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/07/us-china-jiang-internet-idUSTRE76619J20110707>
* Atlantic 7/6/2011: Is Jiang Zemin dead? Real-time illustration of news control in China <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/07/is-jiang-zemin-dead-real-time-illustration-of-news-control-in-china/241489>

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Cisco to aid Chongqing surveillance project

The U.S.-based information technology firm Cisco is reportedly poised to supply key networking equipment for a project announced in March that entails the installation of 500,000 security cameras in the city of Chongqing by 2012 (see CMB Nos. 14 and 25). The web of cameras would form the largest security system of its kind in the world. Hikvision Digital Technology, a Chinese security company contracted by the Chongqing government, said the surveillance system would be tied to an information network that Cisco was already building in the city. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S.-based technology company Hewlett-Packard has also expressed interest in providing equipment for the surveillance project. China is the world's fastest growing market for surveillance equipment. Corinna-Barbara Francis, an Amnesty International researcher, says there is evidence that surveillance footage has been used to identify and detain peaceful protesters, especially in Tibet and Xinjiang. The United States prohibits the export of crime-control products to China in light of its human rights record, but multipurpose systems that can also be used for benign purposes like traffic control are allowed.

* Wall Street Journal 7/5/2011: Cisco poised to help China keep an eye on its citizens <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304778304576377141077267316.html>

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Released activists' silence hints at pressure tactics

A growing number of activists detained by the Chinese authorities in recent months have now emerged from custody, but even those who had returned to activism after weathering previous arrests have remained silent, causing experts to speculate that the torture and threats used against them have risen to new heights. Many of those released have refrained from updating microblogs or asked friends not to contact them, and some have refused to answer their telephones. The limited news of their treatment in custody that has slipped out points to severe beatings, forcible medication, sleep deprivation, and threats to their families. Lawyer Tang Jitian reportedly emerged from just 21 days in custody with tuberculosis. According to some accounts, detainees were forced to sign letters of repentance and provide details on their social activities, including their contact with foreigners and information about their acquaintances. The crackdown has had a chilling effect on the wider activist community. Some lawyers who used to take sensitive cases have started to turn down clients to avoid being "blackhooded"-abducted and held incommunicado at unknown locations.

* South China Morning Post 7/4/2011: Silence of the Chinese dissidents <http://topics.scmp.com/news/china-news-watch/article/Silence-of-the-dissidents>

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Prominent blogger's charge reportedly dropped

On June 26, rumors surfaced that a charge against prominent Sichuan-based online commentator Ran Yunfei had been dropped due to lack of evidence. Ran, who is also an editor of Sichuan Literature magazine, was arrested on March 28 in Chengdu on the charge of "inciting subversion," which was expected to lead to his prosecution and conviction (see CMB No. 16). Ran's wife and lawyer declined to provide further details due to "directives from above," but they admitted that the news about Ran "could be credible." A well-known blogger on social justice issues, Ran had been featured in China's Bold Bloggers, a book produced by the China Media Project.

* China Times 6/29/2011 (in Chinese): Ran Yunfei subversion charge reportedly dropped due to lack of evidence <http://news.chinatimes.com/mainland/17180501/112011062900169.html>
* China Media Project: Ran Yunfei: A bookworm blogging for social justice <http://cmp.hku.hk/2011/02/28/10271>

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Baidu taps Microsoft to boost non-Chinese searches

The Chinese search-engine giant Baidu announced on July 4 that by the end of 2011 it would start offering English-language search services through Bing, the search engine created by U.S.-based Microsoft. Baidu's spokesperson, Kaiser Kuo, said that as the site receives up to 10 million English search requests a day, it needs Microsoft to provide users with a better experience. While details of the agreement were not disclosed, Bing's search results will certainly be censored to comply with Chinese government's demands. Despite its dominance within China, Baidu has had difficulty expanding overseas. Its Japanese-language search engine, Baidu.jp, recently reported losses of at least 800 million yuan ($108.3 million) since 2008.

* New York Times 7/4/2011: Microsoft to partner with China's leading search engine <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/technology/05microsoft.html>
* Penn Olson 7/4/2011: Baidu Japan posts losses totaling RMB 700 million since 2008 <http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/07/04/baidu-japan-losses>

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Former China Mobile executive faces death penalty for bribery

Several recent developments at China Mobile, which boasts the largest number of mobile-telephone subscribers in the world, have shed light on the company's close relationship with the Communist Party and the graft that pervades China's opaque, state-dominated mobile-phone industry. On June 30, Beijing-based Caixin magazine reported that Shi Wanzhong, a former executive at China Mobile, had been sentenced to death for bribery, with a two-year reprieve, after a closed trial in May. According to the court's ruling, Shi, who had previously been named a Communist Party "National Model Worker," and his middleman Tian Qu, who received a 15-year prison term, had accepted a total of $5.1 million from the German manufacturer Siemens in exchange for a procurement contract with China Mobile's Anhui branch, where Shi was general manager. An investigation conducted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2006 to 2008 found that Siemens had offered bribes to Chinese officials and company executives to secure business deals. Shi is one of at least eight China Mobile executives who have faced corruption investigations. On June 30, China Mobile announced that the country's vice minister of industry and information technology, Xi Guohua, would be the company's vice chairman and party secretary. According to Financial Times, Xi is a supporter of pro-Communist text-messaging campaigns and has previously overseen internet censorship.

* Caixin 6/30/2011: Siemens bribery scandal ends in death sentence <http://english.caing.com/2011-06-30/100274546.html>
* Financial Times 6/30/2011: China Mobile changes party guard <http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/174583be-a33b-11e0-8d6d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1RFrQHsRQ>

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Google social-networking site 'throttled' by censors

Netizens and internet experts in China are reporting that access to the social-networking service Google+, though not blocked, has been extremely slow since its launch on June 28. Google+ appears to be facing "web throttling," a new censorship technique that deliberately slows traffic and causes delays in the loading of web pages. According to analyst Steven Millward, Google's Gmail e-mail service has been experiencing especially severe throttling in recent months, to the extent that it sometimes requires five to ten minutes to move from the log-in page to the inbox. The effort is apparently aimed at forcing users to switch to domestic Chinese alternatives, which are more compliant with government censorship and surveillance requests. Other reports indicate that the throttling has been inconsistent across the country, raising the possibility that it is a byproduct of upgrades to the censorship system rather than a deliberate attack on Google's services.

* Foreign Policy 6/30/2011: Is Google+ censored in China? Not so fast <http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/06/30/is_google_censored_in_china_not_so_fast>
* Penn Olson 6/30/2011: Google+ not actually blocked in China, just being slowly throttled <http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/06/30/google-plus-china>

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Scandal-plagued state charity opens microblog to mend image

The Shanghai-based Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) opened a Sina Weibo microblog account on July 4 in attempt to restore its reputation in the wake of the Guo Meimei scandal (see CMB No. 27). Guo, who claimed to be an employee of an RCSC-affiliated entity, had flaunted her lavish lifestyle on her microblog, leading to a netizen boycott of the RCSC in late June. Following further revelations by netizens, Wang Jun, a board member at a for-profit company affiliated to the RCSC, resigned from his position after admitting that Guo was his girlfriend and that he had given her luxury items including expensive cars and designer handbags. According to Beijing News, the RCSC's microblog drew more than 2,000 "angry comments" and 1,000 re-posts within five hours after its launch. When news spread that Guo might leave the country, thousands of RCSC donors contacted the Australian embassy in Beijing, urging officials there to deny her a visa. At the root of the public outrage against Guo is the lack of transparency surrounding donations and spending at the state-run charity.

* Tencent News 7/5/2011 (in Chinese): China's Red Cross Society launches microblog in attempt to stem crisis <http://news.qq.com/a/20110705/000024.htm>
* Sydney Morning Herald 7/7/2011: The tale of the girl called 'pretty pretty baby', her extravagant lifestyle and the Chinese Red Cross <http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-tale-of-the-girl-called-pretty-pretty--baby-her-extravagant-lifestyle-and-the-chinese-red-cross-20110707-1h3ml.html>
* Shanghai Daily 6/29/2011: ...as visa protest reflects distrust <http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/National/2011/06/29/%2Bas%2Bvisa%2Bprotest%2Breflects%2Bdistrust>

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Fake official photo spurs ridicule, apology

On June 26, the government website of Huili County in Sichuan Province was found to have posted a fake photograph of three local officials, including county executive Li Ningyi, inspecting a newly constructed road. In the photo, which was clearly digitally altered, the three men appear to float above the road without casting shadows. The image was widely circulated by netizens in China, and the government site was disabled by the heavy traffic. The government's publicity department issued an apology the next day on the popular Tianya discussion forum and provided photos showing the men actually inspecting the road, explaining that the photographer had been dissatisfied with the original images. To further explain itself, the government created a Sina Weibo microblog account on July 2. Despite these efforts, dozens of parodies of the photos have appeared online, showing the three officials with dinosaurs, on the moon, or surrounding Guo Meimei, the subject of another recent scandal (see above).

* Guardian 6/29/2011: Chinese fake photograph leaves officials on street of shame <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/29/chinese-county-ridicule-doctored-photograph?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=TOPinChina>
* China Digital Times 6/29/2011: Chinese faked photograph leaves officials on street of shame <http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2011/06/chinese-faked-photograph-leaves-officials-on-street-of-shame>

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HONG KONG

Media rights group cites deteriorating free expression

On July 3, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) released its annual assessment of freedom of expression in the territory. The report says the Hong Kong government has become less tolerant of political dissent, citing examples including the arrests of local artists who painted graffiti to express support for detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, decisions to deny entry to Chinese dissidents, and the government's refusal to reform Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) into a more independent public broadcaster. The HKJA specifically noted that Beijing had taken a more aggressive approach in its policy toward Hong Kong, and that the territory's government was becoming less tolerant of protesters outside Beijing's Liaison Office. The report urges the successor of current Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang, who will complete his term in June 2012, to adopt positive policies on free expression and enact legislation to allow the release of government information to the media.

* Hong Kong Journalist Association 7/3/2011: HKJA calls for press freedom action from next chief executive <http://www.hkja.org.hk/site/portal/Site.aspx?id=A1-936〈=en-US>
* Hong Kong Journalist Association: Two Systems Compromised: Free Expression Under Threat in Hong Kong <http://www.ifex.org/china/hong_kong/2011/07/06/hkja_report.doc>

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BEYOND CHINA

Wen's Hungary visit brings protest bans, trade deals

During Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's June 24–25 visit to Hungary, the two countries' governments reached several trade and investment agreements. China reportedly committed to buy $1.4 billion worth of Hungary's national debt, and Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei advanced plans to open its European supply center-set to be its second-largest in the world-in Hungary. The Hungarian authorities restricted protests by Tibetans and Falun Gong adherents during Wen's visit. The local Falun Dafa Association reported being pressured to withdraw their protest application several days before Wen's scheduled arrival, lest they be denied permission for future demonstrations. Meanwhile, Tibetans said they were instructed to report to the immigration office on June 25, although the office is typically closed on Saturdays. Several members of the Hungarian parliament objected to these measures. Hungary is rated Free in Freedom House's annual Freedom of the Press survey, but it suffered a significant score decline for 2010 due to legislation that gave the current government greater control over media content in both public and private outlets.

* Reuters 6/8/2011: China's Huawei picks Hungary for logistics centre <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/08/huawei-hungary-idUSLDE7571T420110608>
* Tibet Post 7/1/2011: Wen Jiabao visits Hungary: Pro-Tibetan demonstrations banned <http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/international/1834-wen-jiabao-visits-hungary-pro-tibetan-demonstrations-banned>
* Epoch Times 6/23/2011: Hungary bans Falun Gong protest of Wen Jiabao's visit <http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/hungary-bans-falun-gong-protest-of-wen-jiabaos-visit-58068.html>
* Freedom House: FOTP 2011 overview essay: Press Freedom in 2010: Signs of change and repression <//freedomhouse.org/images/File/fop/2011/FOTP2011OverviewEssay.pdf>

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Red songs are denied foothold in Connecticut

A local Chinese-language school in Connecticut reportedly introduced pro–Communist Party songs to students in May without realizing the implications of the music. A woman surnamed Ren said revolutionary classics such as "China's Young Pioneers Song" and "Hymn to the Motherland" were included in the planned graduation talent show at the school, where her children were students. The performance was eventually canceled after a series of e-mail exchanges between the school's board members and Ren, who demanded vigilance against overseas expansion of the Communist Party's "red culture" campaign.

* Epoch Times 7/2/2011 (in Chinese): Red song campaign extended overseas? Chinese school in U.S. canceled performance <http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/11/7/2/n3303631.htm>