China cracks down on press freedom

China’s press freedom, human rights, and rule of law suffered repeated blows this week as the government banned foreign companies from publishing content online, urged journalists to pledge absolute loyalty to the Communist Party, and forced a detained human rights lawyer to make a false confession on television.

The acts reveal China’s regression toward Mao-era rule, where information was tightly controlled and dissent quickly punished, shattering hope that market reform and increased globalization would bring political liberalization as well.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, along with the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television announced last week that beginning March 10, all foreign-invested companies will be banned from publishing any text, pictures, maps, games, animation, and sound “of informational or thoughtful nature.” Only foreign companies that partner with Chinese companies and receive governmental approval can publish content, and even then the content must be stored on servers inside China.

The vague rules could affect not only foreign news outlets, but also gaming companies, social media companies, or technology companies such as Apple and Microsoft. But how the law will be implemented and who will be affected is yet to be seen, since sites like The New York Times and Facebook are already blocked in the mainland. Other publications, such as a growing selection of Christian publications, likely would be unaffected, since most are either published on servers outside China or exist solely on the social media site WeChat. The flexibility of WeChat means that if one channel is blocked or censored, another one can be set up immediately.

As Beijing restricts foreign companies from entering the Chinese marketplace in order to keep its citizens from foreign influences, Chinese publications such as Xinhua and China Central Television (CCTV) are expanding worldwide to tout their propaganda. While Twitter is banned in China, state-run publications constantly tweet articles about China’s prosperity, photos-ops with President Xi Jinping, and cute panda videos. To ensure China’s domestic and international media stay in line with the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping visited People’s Daily, Xinhua, and CCTV last Friday to stress his new media policy.

“All the work by the party’s media must reflect the party’s will, safeguard the party’s authority, and safeguard the party’s unity,” Xi said at CCTV. “They must love the party, protect the party, and closely align themselves with the party leadership in thought, politics, and action.”

Photos of reporters and editors excitedly greeting Xi and articles praising the president’s speech covered the front pages of Chinese newspapers. The deputy director of Xinhua posted an adoring poem to Xi on his WeChat account. The official China Daily noted Xi unveiled the new policy due to growing concerns over China’s economic slowdown.

“The nation’s media outlets are essential to political stability, and the leadership cannot afford to wait for them to catch up with the times,” the paper wrote.

The government has used news media to accomplish its own ends by airing forced confessions in order to spread fear and squelch dissent. The latest “confession” released Thursday featured Christian human rights lawyer Zhang Kai admitting to disturbing social order and endangering state secrets. Zhang, who defended churches that had their crosses torn down by government officials, was taken into secretive detention exactly six months before the confession aired. Police scrambled over church walls to arrest him and two assistants a day before he planned to meet with David Saperstein, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

In what looks like a scripted confession, a weary-looking Zhang said he helped the churches and opposed the government’s cross demolition policy in order to earn large sums of money and build up his reputation. He also said he took money from foreign organizations such as China Aid, which he claimed has an ulterior motive of tarnishing the international image of the Chinese government and its human rights record.

In response, China Aid’s Bob Fu defended Zhang in a post on Facebook: “I am proud of being [Zhang’s] friend although painfully watch him ‘condemning’ me and China Aid on TV. … Those of us as his friends surely know he will never compromise nor betray us in any way unless he faces insurmountable hardship.”

In a written statement, Fu insisted his organization’s work would continue, despite government opposition.

“Although China Aid was mentioned in the shameful Communist Party of China’s official propaganda in the broadcast as the ‘overseas force supporting Zhang Kai’s legal defense work,’ we will never be intimidated or cease to continue to promote religious freedom for all in China,” he said.