Journalists at major Communist China newspaper go on strike to protest censorship, propaganda supervisors change copy to fit Communist Party needs-BBC

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1/7/13, "China newspaper journalists stage rare strike," BBC

"Journalists at a major Chinese paper, Southern Weekly, have gone on strike in a rare protest against censorship.

The row was sparked last week when the paper's New Year message calling for reform was changed by propaganda officials....

Supporters of the paper have gathered outside its office, reports say.

Some of the protesters carried banners that read: "We want press freedom, constitutionalism and democracy". Police did not interfere with the protesters outside the paper's offices, Reuters news agency reports.

"The Nanfang [Southern] Media Group is relatively willing to speak the truth in China so we need to stand up for its courage and support it now," Ao Jiayang, one of the protesters, told Reuters.

Southern Weekly is perhaps the country's most respected newspaper, known for its hard-hitting investigations and for testing the limits of freedom of speech, says the BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing.

Chinese media are supervised by so-called propaganda departments that often change content to align it with party thinking.

The row erupted after a New Year message which had called for guaranteed constitutional rights was changed by censors into a piece that praised the Communist Party....

Almost 100 editorial staff members have gone on strike, saying the newspaper is under pressure from authorities.

It is thought that this is the first time that there has been a direct showdown between newspaper staff and party officials, our correspondent adds.

In an editorial on Friday referring to the row, the state-run newspaper Global Times said: "The reality is that old media regulatory policies cannot go on as they are now. The society is progressing, and the management should evolve."

However it also pointed out that "no matter how the Chinese media is regulated, they will never become the same as their Western counterparts".

"The only way that fits the development of Chinese media is one that can suit the country's development path," it said."...


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