Opinion

New regulations in China ban journalists from quoting foreign media

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The front-page of the China Press and Publishing Journal, April 16, 2013. Screenshot from its website

Patrick Boehler has published on China and Southeast Asia in four languages for publications in the US, Europe and Asia.

Published: 5:47pm, 16 Apr 2013Updated: 4:13am, 29 Aug 2013

On the day Chinese journalists woke up to news that the New York Times won a Pulitzer for its report on former Premier Wen Jiabao's family fortune, China's media regulator issued new regulations banning reports on foreign media coverage.

"All kinds of media work units may not use any unauthorised news products provided by foreign media or foreign websites," according to a notice issued by the General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

The notice also does not allow any reporting from reporting any information from "informers, freelancers, NGOs, commercial organisations" without "prior verification."

A report on the notice was published on Tuesday on the front page of the China Press and Publishing Journal, a subsidiary of the regulator.

The notice calls on media organisations to "strengthen the management" of their websites, blogs and micro-blogs, including private micro-blog accounts.

"Strengthened management" is understood to be party-speak for allowing less leeway in sharing information online that couldn't have appeared in newspapers in the first place.