VZCZCXRO1383
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #1518/01 1560944
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 050944Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4351
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 001518 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS FOR USTR 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EINT ECON KIPR CH
SUBJECT: DIRECTOR OF STATE COUNCIL INFORMATION OFFICE MEETS 
CONGRESSMEN KIRK AND LARSEN 
 
REF: (A) Beijing 1473; Beijing 1482 
 
(U) This cable is Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) and for official 
use only.  Not for transmission outside USG channels. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Representatives Mark Kirk (D-IL) and Rick Larsen 
(R-IL) met on June 1 with Wang Chen, Director of the State Council 
Information Office(SCIO), to discuss issues related to open access 
to information in China.  The Congressmen specifically raised 
censorship of Voice of America (VOA) radio broadcasts in China and 
the continued blocking by the Chinese government of Google's YouTube 
video-sharing website.  Wang welcomed foreign media reporting about 
China, noted a pre-Olympics decree that continues to allow foreign 
media greater access in China, and touted the country's "fully open" 
Internet.  However, he also said that "untrue" media reports and all 
Chinese language websites remain subject to relevant rules and 
regulations.  Wang did not give clear answers on either the VOA or 
YouTube issue, but did ask that Kirk and Larsen convey to Congress 
that Chinese hackers are unfairly blamed by the U.S. and other 
countries for cyber attacks.  Wang also lamented biased U.S. 
reporting and indicated China's interest in establishing a global 
news network ` la CNN to bring the message of China's harmonious 
development to the world.  Wang ended the meeting with a plea for 
more opportunities for bilateral media and cultural exchanges.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Congressman Kirk raised the issue of Voice of America (VOA) 
radio transmissions, which are currently blocked in China (VOA's 
website is also blocked, and there is a prohibition against the 
broadcasting of VOA material on Chinese television).  Kirk indicated 
that Chinese radio stations are currently prohibited from using VOA 
broadcasts without requesting permission from the Chinese government 
because VOA is a quasi state-owned organization.  Kirk said that as 
little as two percent of VOA news programming could be considered 
sensitive, and suggested that Chinese radio stations be allowed to 
freely use VOA content unless explicitly told not to. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Wang responded that the SCIO welcomes foreign media 
reporting on China and Chinese development, and is happy to provide 
services to foreign reporters.  He cited Decree 477, issued prior to 
the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which allowed foreign journalists to 
conduct interviews in China without the advance consent of the 
Chinese government.  Wang said the decree was widely praised by 
foreign journalists, and was therefore reinstated as Decree 537 when 
it expired on October 17, 2008.  The new decree, he said, inherited 
both the practice and spirit of Decree 477 and, based on a survey of 
800 journalists, has also been well received.  Foreign journalists, 
Wang said, can still freely conduct interviews in and file reports 
from China.  Voice of America, he said, has reported about sensitive 
people in China, which indicates the government is open to such 
interviews and reporting.  Wang said foreign language websites won't 
have a problem using VOA material, but that Chinese language 
websites and any stories that are deemed "untrue" are subject to 
relevant Chinese rules and regulations. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Kirk also raised the question of China's ongoing blocking 
of Google's YouTube video sharing website in China, and asked 
whether at least partial access to the popular website would be 
possible.  Wang replied that the company is currently in 
negotiations with relevant authorities, but said he was unsure of 
the status of those talks.  Wang went on to raise three points. 
First, he stressed that China's Internet is fully open.  It was 
introduced in China, he said, in 1994, and has grown quickly to more 
than 300 million users and 2.4 million websites.  Sites operated by 
news agency Xinhua, he noted, have such large amounts of content 
that it would be impossible to read it all.  These examples of 
growth, he said, would not be possible in an online environment that 
was not open.  Second, Wang said that China's administration of the 
Internet takes place in strict accordance with relevant Chinese laws 
and regulations, including China's constitution, in order to combat 
online crime, pornography, money laundering, and gambling. 
Referencing President Obama's recent establishment of a White House 
Cyber Czar, Wang complained that foreign countries victimized by 
cyber attacks too often blame Chinese hackers.  Wang countered that 
Chinese hackers are small in number and are not sophisticated, and 
asked Kirk and Larsen to use their influence to convey this message 
in Washington.  Finally, Wang indicated SCIO's interest in 
exchanging views on the Internet with U.S. and other foreign 
businesses and governments, and pointed to ongoing cooperation in 
this area.  He referenced the annual U.S.-China Internet Summit, 
co-hosted by SCIO and Microsoft, as well as a similar event held 
with U.K. counterparts. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Larsen asked Wang about his perception of U.S. media 
coverage of China, to which Wang responded with three points. 
First, he said, the United States is the world's only superpower and 
has a very developed media industry.  Wang said he is happy that the 
 
BEIJING 00001518  002 OF 002 
 
 
U.S. media focuses on China, and welcomes them to China.  Second, he 
said his feelings about the coverage of U.S. media were mixed 
because while reporting that is "objective, truthful, and friendly" 
can be helpful, biased, fabricated reporting is damaging.  Wang 
lamented that while China seeks to clarify such harmful reporting, 
it does not have any influence over the U.S. media.  Third, he added 
that China hopes to expand its influence in the global media to 
better explain China's harmonious and peaceful development, which he 
said "by no means will harm others."  To expand its influence and 
explain that China's development will benefit all, including 
Americans, he said he hoped that China could establish "its own CNN 
or New York Times." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Wang suggested that Representatives Kirk and Larsen, as 
co-chairs of the Congressional U.S.-China Working Group, consider 
promoting more bilateral media and cultural exchanges to complement 
the productive economic cooperation that already exists between the 
two countries.  Wang said the SCIO would support such initiatives, 
and asked that the Congress make more such efforts.  For example, 
Wang said, China is developing a number of musicals and would 
benefit from learning more about Broadway productions in the United 
States. 
 
¶7. (U) Representatives Kirk and Larsen did not have the opportunity 
to clear this message before departing. 
 
PICCUTA