China bans reporters from sharing information with foreign media

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PUBLISHED: 4:03 AM, JULY 12, 2014

BEIJING — Chinese regulators have banned the country’s journalists from sharing information they have obtained on the job with overseas media or publishing it in any venue outside the media in which they are employed, in a move that critics have said will further stifle press freedom.

The regulations, which were detailed in a June 30 document but released this week, come at a time when Chinese journalists have been accused of using their positions for blackmail. But the rules will also impact journalists who, frustrated with tight controls over what they can publish in their companies, have sometimes released information they have obtained to outlets outside mainland China or on social media, such as their personal blogs.

In an explanatory note, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said those acts have “disturbed the normal news order” and hurt the interest of the ruling Communist Party as well as China’s national interest.

Invoking laws on national secrecy, intellectual property rights and labour contracts, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said Chinese journalists accredited to work for the state media shall not provide information to overseas news outlets as special contributors or release information on venues such as blogs, microblogs, forums or seminars.

Mr Chen Min, a former journalist, said the new rules will undoubtedly clamp down on freedom of information. The government has long maintained tight controls over media outlets but journalists have sought ways to break down the barriers.

“This, in essence, is depriving the public of the right to know,” said Mr Chen, who now works as an independent commentator and a visiting scholar in Taiwan.

He said Beijing had vaguely defined laws on state secrets, making it easy to punish journalists whom the government says have overstepped the rules.

“To put it bluntly, you now can only say what has been sanctioned by China’s propaganda officials,” Mr Chen said.

The lack of media freedom is accompanied by an environment where some reporters solicit bribes in return for not running stories that may embarrass a company or person. AP