Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published what it alleges to be a document issued to Chinese news organisations by the country’s Propaganda Department.
The directives in the document were reportedly delivered only via word of mouth to journalists at meetings where note-taking was banned.
The document (Chinese language) reportedly bans the coverage of a number of contentious issues in China, including: “the property market, rising prices, corruption, the demolition of housing and compulsory relocation, residence permits, the absence of social security, inadequate transport during the Chinese New Year and popular discontent that finds expression in anti-government demonstrations.”
RSF has accused the Chinese Propaganda Department of placing the country’s media within an “editorial straitjacket”.
Nobody from RSF was available to comment on when, or from whom it obtained the document.
Nobody from the Chinese Embassy press office, London was available to comment on the report.
