Media muzzled for US envoy's Shenzhen visit

The mainland media has been told to play down the US ambassador to China's visit to Shenzhen to promote intellectual property rights to law school students and entrepreneurs.

State media confirmed to the South China Morning Post that they had received a ban from propaganda authorities, prohibiting mentioning intellectual property rights and reducing coverage of Ambassador Jon Huntsman's visit to the city.

The US has long expressed concerns over piracy of software, music and other goods in China. On Tuesday, Washington unveiled a wide-ranging strategic plan to protect intellectual property in industries and pledge to confront governments which fail to crack down on piracy.

Fewer than 10 mainland newspapers, television channels and news agencies covered Huntsman's two-day visit to Shenzhen, ending yesterday, in sharp contrast with front-page reports on any visiting high-profile foreign officials in the past.

Outspoken newspapers such as The Southern Metropolis News cancelled their scheduled interviews with the ambassador, and Southern Weekly, which published an exclusive interview with US President Barack Obama during his visit to China, didn't report Huntsman's trip at all.

Shenzhen government mouthpieces, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily and the Shenzhen Economic Daily, published the same six-paragraph story about the ambassador meeting Shenzhen's newly appointed mayor, Xu Qin. Neither mentioned anything about intellectual property rights.