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Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
09BEIJING3212	2009-12-01 12:18	2011-08-30 01:44	CONFIDENTIAL	Embassy Beijing

VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBJ #3212 3351218
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 011218Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7004
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 003212 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2029 
TAGS: PHUM PROP PGOV CH
SUBJECT: CCTV STEPS IN TO SPRING EMPLOYEE DETAINED FOR 
EXPOSING POOR MAY 2008 EARTHQUAKE RELIEF 
 
Classified By: Classified by Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlso 
n.  Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  The clout of a powerful organization, such 
as China Central Television (CCTV), can be more useful in 
freeing sensitive political detainees in China than a lawyer, 
according to well-known blogger Zhao Jing (aka Michael Anti, 
protect) and his wife Fan Ming (protect).  In October 2008, 
Fan was released from detention in Sichuan province where she 
had been held on suspicion of "subversion of the state" after 
her former employer, CCTV, intervened on her behalf.  Fan was 
detained while making an independent film about the aftermath 
of the May 2008 Sichuan earthquake.  Although Fan had asked 
her husband to retain a lawyer to advocate on her behalf, 
Zhao opted for what he considered the safer route of quiet 
backchannel negotiation.  In the end, CCTV won Fan's release 
by promising to air a documentary portraying earthquake 
relief efforts by Sichuan officials in a positive light.  End 
Summary. 
 
State Subversion by Way of Documentary Filmmaking 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2. (C) On November 28, PolOff discussed with well-known 
Chinese blogger Zhao Jing (aka Michael Anti, protect) and his 
wife Fan Ming (protect), the former producer of China Central 
Television's (CCTV) News Investigation (Xinwen Diaocha) 
program, Fan's detention in October 2008 for "subversion of 
the state."  Fan was detained after working on a documentary 
exposing problems related to the Sichuan provincial 
government's response to the May 2008 earthquake.  The 
documentary was an independent project, not associated with 
Fan's former employer CCTV.  Fan and a colleague were jailed 
for seven days in a Chengdu jail cell that she shared with a 
large number of female suspects awaiting trials for crimes 
ranging from fraud to murder.  Some prisoners had already 
been waiting two years without trial, Fan said. 
 
Efforts to Free Fan: Plans A and B 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) There were two possible tactics available to Fan's 
supporters said Zhao Jing.  Plan A was to work through back 
channels and rely on the clout of supporters at CCTV, while 
plan B was to hire a lawyer and raise the profile of the case 
by contacting foreign media.  Zhao strongly supported plan A, 
while Fan Ming herself and well-known CCTV reporter Chai Jing 
who was also working for Fan's release strongly advocated 
hiring a lawyer.  Ignoring the request of his jailed wife to 
hire a lawyer had been a difficult decision, but the right 
one, maintained Zhao.  Hiring a lawyer would have made local 
officials lose face and cement Fan's identity as a dissident, 
he argued.  The result could have been a longer detention or 
a prison sentence and, following her release, limited job 
prospects with Chinese media.  In addition to eschewing legal 
counsel, Zhao said that he had called contacts at Western 
news bureaus and asked them not to report his wife's 
detention.  While Zhao argued that he had made the correct 
decision, he also noted that many other dissidents who had 
relied on connections had not been so lucky. 
 
A Deal for Freedom 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) In order to secure Fan's release, CCTV officials had 
agreed to produce and air a documentary highlighting only the 
positive aspects of the earthquake response by the Sichuan 
government, Zhao said.  (Note:  This arrangement has not been 
made public and Fan and Zhao shared this information with 
PolOff in confidence.)  In exchange, Sichuan officials 
released Fan and her colleague to a local hotel where they 
were required to remain for three weeks at their own expense. 
 Following her return to Beijing, Fan was required to meet 
with the police regularly to report on her activities.  The 
one-year deadline for the government to officially charge Fan 
with subversion recently passed, and Fan said that she would 
soon return to work at CCTV. 
HUNTSMAN

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Viewing cable 09BEIJING3212, CCTV STEPS IN TO SPRING EMPLOYEE DETAINED FOR