The Central Propaganda Department can force papers to run their government-line editorials, but even with the power vested in them by the Party, it can't determine where those op-eds appear.
Like, say, next to a humongous ad for pesticide control.
China may finally be reforming its frightening system of “re-education through labor” (RTL), according to state news agencies -- but to what extent? While state media initially reported Monday that the CPC Central Committee would be pushing through a proposal to end the system by 2013, officials quickly backpedaled and settled on “reforming” the system, according to China Digital Times.
More than a few journalists and observers have averred the significance of the Southern Weekly "incident," but the actual story has appeared to fall short of their expectations. As I wrote two days ago, "But is this really a watershed moment for media rights in China, as some hope... or will we return to our jobs soon and let the more vested parties enter negotiations on the future of both Tuo Zhen and Southern Weekly?" There's nothing wrong with hoping, but as Zhongnanhai points out, sometimes we would do well to step back to view the story in its proper context.
Two big Southern Weekly updates this morning. First, it appears the ripples have spread to Beijing News, a sibling publication to Southern Weekly under the ownership of Nanfang Media Group, where the top publisher has resigned instead of publishing a pro-government editorial.
Out of the way, Google and Apple Maps. Here’s a 3-dimensional, interactive, painstakingly rendered map of Beijing that, on top of all its pretty amazing features, looks like the ultimate Lego world. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like you can zoom out all the way, but you can go far enough out to realize that the... Read more »
A remarkable message was published recently on Sina Weibo, supposedly written by a company manager who goes by @geniune_Yu_Yang — an account that has since been deleted. Prompted by perceived public misunderstanding of Sina Weibo’s handling of the Southern Weekly story, the writer posted a screenshot of text that illustrated the how and why of its... Read more »
Brad Pitt, who is technically still banned from China, opened a verified Sina Weibo account yesterday, @Brad_Pitt. His first message, published at exactly noon, was simple and to the point: "It is the truth. Yup, I'm coming..." In two hours, according to Tech in Asia, that post had amassed more than 8,000 comments and 20,000 forwards. And now it's been deleted.
Another day, another man tries to cut off his own penis. Recently in Hong Kong, as Shanghaiist tells us via ON.cc (belonging to the Oriental Press Group), 29-year-old Mr. Luk from Hong Kong tried to castrate himself with pair of scissors. His subsequent scream woke his father, who immediately called the police and sent him to... Read more »
Proving again that if you’re out trying to get drunk in Sanlitun, you might as well just drink baijiu so at least your brain knows it’s being poisoned: Beijing police detained five suspects and confiscated over 37,000 bottles of fake foreign alcohol which was sold to bars along the Sanlitun Bar Street, police told the... Read more »
We just received a tip, one person removed, from the public relations office at the Nanfang Media Group that Southern Weekly has been cancelled. No new content will be published on the website or under the name “Southern Weekly” (also known as Southern Weekend). The Nanfang Group’s PR staff, which has been sequestered inside their office... Read more »
