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Since its constitution, it’s section on media

Since the internet’s inception and widespreadadoption, China has sought to control both what come into and out of thecountry by way of the world wide web. China’s strict media controls usuallyinvolve the use of monitoring systems run by the government, firewalls systemsthat restrict certain websites, blacklisting certain publications, and jailingbloggers and journalists who they deem a “ threat” to China’s national security (1). Google’s battle with the Chinese government over internet censorship andthe Norwegian Nobel Committee’s awarding of the 2010 Peace Prize to jailedChinese activist Liu Xiaobo have also increased international attention tocensorship issues.

(2) At the same time, the country’s burgeoning economyrelies on the web for growth, and experts say the growing need for internetfreedom is testing the regime’s control. (3) In this essay I will be studyingthe official media policies that China maintains, the methods through which thegovernment enacts media control, and the effect that this control has upon thecitizens of China. I will be doing this in order to understand whether or notChina’s current system of governance would be able to maintain control if theydidn’t censor Chinese media so heavily. So, what exactly is China’s policy on media censorship? While freedom of speech andpress is granted to the citizens of China within its constitution, it’s sectionon media regulations allows authorities to censor news stories by claiming thatthey expose “ state secrets” or threaten the safety of the country in some way (4). China’s definition of state secrets continues to remain nebulous, which allowsfor censorship of any and all information that Chinese authorities mightconsider even remotely harmful to China’s political and economic interests. CFRSenior Fellow Elizabeth C. Economy says the Chinese government is ina state of “ schizophrenia” about media policy as it “ goes back and forth, testing the line, knowing they need press freedom and the information itprovides, but worried about opening the door to the type of freedoms that couldlead to the regime’s downfall.” (5) Because internet development has takenplace entirely within the control of the Communist party over the last 20+years, China has been able to develop what China’s internet czar, Lu Wei, calls,” a balance between freedom and order and openness and economy.

” He continued bysaying that China is on a path of “ cyber-governance with Chinesecharacteristics.” (6)Thegovernment issued in May 2010 its first white paper on the internetthat focused on the concept of “ internet sovereignty,” and required that everyinternet user in China, including foreign organizations and individuals, had toabide by Chinese laws and regulations. (7) These laws and regulations includeda requirement that all Chinese internet companies are required to sign a” Public Pledge on Self-Regulation and Professional Ethics for China InternetIndustry,” that encompasses more stringent rules than those within the whitepaper (8).

China’s General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jingpingannounced a new media policy in 2016 that outlined “ All the work by the party’smedia must reflect the party’s will, safeguard the party’s authority, andsafeguard the party’s unity” and reemphasized China’s position that its statemedia must align themselves with the “ thought, politics, and actions” of theparty’s leadership. In doing so, Xi made a clear statement to the world thatChina sees its media as simply a tool for the Communist party to maintaincontrol over what information can be introduced to its populous (9).  A China Daily essayemphasized Xi’s policy, noting that “ the nation’s media outlets areessential to political stability,” and It has been argued that China’scommunication system is a “ key battleground for china’s future.”(10)

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