Media told to toe official party line
Beijing has tightened control of mainland media during the annual sessions of the top legislature and advisory body in a bid to silence dissent amid intensified efforts to woo foreign media ahead of next year's Olympic Games.
Propaganda authorities have urged mainland media to strictly toe the official line and have expanded a notorious non-coverage list, which already consisted of hundreds of 'politically sensitive' topics or keywords considered reporting taboos, municipal government sources said.
According to directives issued in the past two days by the city government's information office, news portals and other websites have been ordered not to publish anything critical of the controversial Property Law, which was presented to NPC delegates yesterday.
It said media outlets' coverage of the mainland's first property legislation, which has been hotly debated for years, must be restricted to stories by Xinhua and People's Daily.
'Opposition and critical views [of the law] must be removed to create a favourable public opinion environment for the smooth adoption of it,' the office said.
The directives also banned discussion of Chen Liangyu , the Shanghai party boss sacked for corruption, who has retained his party membership and remains a NPC delegate, although he is not attending this year's session.
Caijing magazine, a popular reformist weekly, fell victim to the intensified crackdown this week, with the authorities ordering its latest issue, carrying a cover story on the debate over the Property Law, to be withdrawn from sale, according to a staff member at the publication.
The latest issue of the magazine, scheduled to be released on Monday, was still not available at newsstands or on its website yesterday.
Yu Quanyu , a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference delegate who is one of the staunchest opponents of the Property Law, said he was not surprised that his critical views would not be allowed to appear in the official media.
'I am clearly aware that all those opposition views are banned from publication and it does not have much to do with the editors,' he said. 'The ban must be from higher authorities.'
Beijing, meanwhile, has stepped up its campaign to woo overseas media by easing longstanding restrictions and promising more access for reporters from foreign agencies to cover the annual National People's Congress, CPPCC meetings and the Beijing Olympics.
But an NPC official urged Hong Kong-based reporters on Wednesday not to file stories on their wrangling with security staff at the Great Hall of the People earlier that day.
And dozens of overseas reporters were forced to leave a meeting of Shanghai delegates on Wednesday before ailing Vice-Premier Huang Ju arrived.
