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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 013858 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2031 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCUL SOCI CH
SUBJECT: DRAFT LAW ON COVERING "SUDDEN INCIDENTS" RILES 
CHINESE JOURNALISTS 
 
 
Classified By: Political Section Internal Unit Chief Kin W. Moy.  Reaso 
ns 1.4 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (C) News that the National People's Congress draft 
law on handling emergency situations will include a 
section limiting the media's ability to report on 
"sudden incidents" has stimulated anger among Chinese 
journalists.  Editors and reporters told us the 
proposed rules constitute another in a string of 
Government measures aimed at subduing an assertive 
press corps.  The influential bi-weekly Caijing 
Magazine is preparing to fight the provision in the 
hopes that the NPC will remove it from the draft law. 
But contacts said the legislation enjoys backing at 
the Party's highest levels and that the NPC Standing 
Committee will almost certainly recommend passage as 
is at the NPC's next session in March.  Media insiders 
stressed that the Chinese leadership views a genuinely 
free press reporting on disasters, epidemics and civil 
discord (as "sudden incidents" are loosely defined) as 
a potential threat to social stability.  If the final 
legislation includes language limiting coverage in 
these areas, it would constitute a significant setback 
for the Chinese media.  End Summary. 
 
Negative Reaction 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) The Xinhua News Agency first reported the 
content of the media section of the draft law at the 
end of a larger article about the legislation on June 
¶25.  The NPC has been considering codifying in law the 
methods the Government should use in response to 
"sudden incidents," which contacts broadly defined as 
disasters, health crises or social unrest, for several 
years.  According to the wire service article, under 
the draft law, news outlets would be required to 
obtain local government approval prior to running 
related stories or risk fines of up to RMB 100,000 
(USD 12,500).  Reporting "false" news could incur 
similar penalties.  Editors and journalists told us 
the portion prescribing how the media treats such 
events is a recent addition to the law's text. 
 
¶3.  (C) The response in the pages of some Chinese 
newspapers and on Internet portals has been negative. 
The Beijing News, a progressive high-circulation 
daily, ran the Xinhua article under a banner headline 
focusing on the media angle on page four (teased on 
the front page) on June 26.  The Southern Metropolitan 
Daily ran a commentary the same day, calling the 
proposed reporting rules "nonsense."  The Internet 
news portal Sina.com published a scathing opinion 
piece charging that limiting the media's ability to 
cover important news "violates the public's right to 
know."  The commentator wrote that the draft law also 
violates the United Nations Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights.  Referring to the key role the press 
played in promulgating vital information during the 
SARS crisis of 2003, the writer contended that such 
openness earned the Government public confidence and 
approval in the international community.  Imposing new 
rules, on the other hand, only increases public doubt 
about the Government. 
 
"Assemble a War Team" 
--------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) The influential bi-weekly Caijing Magazine has 
decided to take a strong editorial stand against the 
media portion of the draft law, said Wang Feng 
(protect), an editor at the magazine.  He related that 
on June 27, editor in chief Hu Shuli phoned him from 
the United States, where she was traveling on 
business, and directed him to "assemble a war team." 
Wang said Hu wants Caijing to rally a respected group 
of legal experts to write a series of columns refuting 
the proposed coverage rules.  But time is tight.  Wang 
speculated that the Propaganda Department would issue 
guidelines within a week on how to cover discussion of 
the draft in an effort to squelch open debate about 
the media portion.  To stay a step ahead of the 
censors, Caijing intends to post the commentary on its 
website in the coming days.  The magazine's next issue 
is not scheduled to appear on newsstands until July 
¶13.  Wang said the magazine's aim is to rally enough 
influential voices to criticize the measure, thereby 
pressuring the NPC to remove the media segment from 
 
BEIJING 00013858  002 OF 002 
 
 
the legislation.  He expressed optimism on this front, 
adding that Hu Shuli "understands the boundaries" and 
would not muster troops if the case were hopeless. 
 
It's About Social Stability 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Others are less upbeat.  The draft law, 
including the media rules, enjoys support at the 
highest levels of the Party, said Dong Yuyu (protect), 
an editor at party mouthpiece Guangming Daily who 
closely follows leadership issues.  As a result, the 
NPC Standing Committee will likely recommend passage 
of the full legislation at the NPC's next session in 
March.  In Dong's view, the press coverage rules are 
directly related to the leadership's growing concern 
about social stability.  He added that he believes top 
Politburo members do not view a genuinely free media 
as conducive to maintaining civic order.  In fact, 
with the number of protests over land seizures, 
pollution and other issues on the upswing across 
China, Propaganda Department efforts to keep related 
stories under wraps will only intensify in the near 
term, Dong predicted. 
 
¶6.  (C) Disasters such as the Songhua River pollution 
incident in December 2005 are part of the impetus for 
the proposed rules, Wang of Caijing said.  The wide 
media coverage of the Songhua spill was embarrassing 
for local governments in northeastern China as well as 
for the Central Government.  As news of a cover-up 
spread, officials must have feared a total erosion of 
public confidence in local authorities, Wang surmised. 
He added that censors prohibited Caijing from 
publishing a story about a deputy mayor in Harbin who 
allegedly committed suicide after being pressured to 
take the blame for the chemical spill.  That is 
precisely the kind of article the Propaganda 
Department wants to stop, Wang said. 
 
 
Old Rules, New Game 
------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) What kind of effect the proposed rules might 
have on the media depends on how the censors enforce 
them, Wang of Caijing said.  Dong separately made a 
similar point, adding that the Propaganda Department 
has long been conducting monthly training sessions 
aimed at providing guidance to journalists in how to 
treat flash events.  In this context, Dong said the 
language in the draft law related to the press 
reflects old Propaganda rules from the 1950s that the 
Government is dusting off in an effort to rein in an 
increasingly assertive press corps.  Nonetheless, with 
or without the regulations, media outlets face a 
dilemma, Dong said.  News about important events 
inevitably becomes public knowledge via the Internet 
or other means.  The media has no choice but to 
attempt to cover these incidents, but to avoid 
unwelcome attention from the censors, the trick is to 
know what details to leave out, Dong remarked. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C) If the final legislation includes language 
that curtails the media's ability to report on "sudden 
incidents," it would mark a significant setback for 
the Chinese media.  In recent years, open reporting on 
natural and man-made disasters and other crises was 
one of the major advances for a profession that has 
seen a narrowing of its ability to cover hard domestic 
news.  In China's current media climate, reporting on 
disasters not only symbolizes greater press freedom, 
but also increases circulation and viewership.  From 
this perspective, there are huge stakes for editors 
and reporters, who appear to be headed on a collision 
course with the Propaganda Department and the NPC. 
RANDT