He added that the Communist Party has always seen propaganda as vital to its success and is unlikely to abandon that weapon soon. "The Communist Party rose on propaganda, and they really believe that power comes from controlling guns and pens," Yu said. "That is especially true now, at this crucial time, since today's leaders lack confidence in their ability to maintain control."
Even now, on issues deemed threatening to the party's dominance, discipline can be swift. Journalists in Henan province who reported on the local AIDS epidemic were fired. But government censure can often be a calling card rather than a black mark, and most have since landed good jobs in Beijing.
Many journalists predict legal changes in coming years that will guarantee greater press freedom, as China's entry into the WTO opens its news media to more foreign competition.
Already, some magazines, like Caijing, have won a measure of protection from the propaganda machine, thanks to powerful government sponsors. Hu says her bosses at the government-backed China Stock Exchange Executive Council "understand that investors will not invest here unless they can get reliable news; so we have to provide that."
But such probing journalism has its hazards. The real estate company with good political ties sued Caijing for slander, and the magazine lost.
"It's two steps forward, one step back; but, in the last few years, it keeps getting better," Hu said. "As China's market economy develops, the media will gain more financial independence and, with it, freedom."
But perhaps she had forgotten items 23 and 24 of the "Problems and Concerning Reports" section of the propaganda department memo: "Chinese media should not be privatized"; and "Don't refer to media as a commercial business."
RSS