August 29 — In a humiliating gaffe for Chinese officials who have lately shifted their campaign against fakes (including fake news) into high gear, the official Yangzhou Evening News was awarded one of the Chinese journalism’s highest national awards for a newspaper page that never existed. [More from ESWN].
August 30 — China’s emergency response law was formally passed more than a year after the first draft sparked a controversy over a clause threatening to fine media that “made bold” to report against government regulations. Some within the Chinese media saw the passing of the law without the media clause as a victory. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders condemned the law on August 31, referring to it as a “law censoring disaster coverage”. [See CMP analysis here].