According to CMP’s preliminary analysis, there are a total of 20 articles dealing with “Occupy Central” in China’s newspapers today, appearing in 18 separate newspapers but with substantial overlap of very limited information.
Of these 20 articles, 12 are taken from a single official release, or tonggao (通稿), from Xinhua News Agency. The Xinhua release, filed yesterday, reports remarks by Hong Kong’s chief secretary for administration, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (林郑月娥), to the effect that the Hong Kong government would delay second round consultations on political reform.
In fact, this Xinhua story is woefully dated considering media outside mainland China, including the South China Morning Post, reported widely yesterday on a press conference two days ago at which Lam said: “[H]aving considered [the recent developments], we understand that the current social atmosphere is not good for such a consultation exercise.”
Here is a list of papers and headlines using the Xinhua release on second round consultation today:
1. “占中”严重影响经济民生
Shenzhen Metropolis Daily / 深圳都市报
Page A02
2. 港暂缓启动政改第二轮公众咨询 2
Shenzhen Special Zone Daily / 深圳特区报
Page A21
3. “占领中环”非法集会严重影响经济民生香港各界呼吁恢复正常秩序
Changsha Evening Post / 长沙晚报
Page A01
4.港府宣布暂缓 启动政改咨询
Shenzhen Economic Daily/ 深圳商报
Page A13
5.香港特区政府宣布暂缓启动政改第二轮公众咨询
Guangzhou Daily / 广州日报
Page A01
6.香港特区政府宣布 政改第二轮公众咨询暂缓启动
Nanguo Today / 南国今报
Page 22
7.香港特区政府宣布暂缓启动政改第二轮公众咨询
Guangxi Daily / 广西日报
Page 10
8. 香港特区政府宣布 政改第二轮公众咨询 暂缓启动
Nanguo Morning Post / 南国早报
Page A26
9.香港宣布暂缓启动 政改第二轮公众咨询
Jiangnan Metropolis Daily / 江南都市报
Page A01
10. 香港特区政府宣布 暂缓启动政改第二轮公众咨询
Nanfang Daily / 南方日报
Page A11
11.“占中”严重影响经济民生 香港各界呼吁恢复正常秩序
Beijing Daily / 北京日报
Page 03
12. 香港宣布暂缓启动政改第二轮公众咨询
Chengdu Evening Post / 成都晚报
Page 01
We should note that with just two exceptions, these newspapers are from the three southernmost mainland provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Jianxi. The exceptions are the Changsha Evening Post, a commercial newspaper in Hunan (bordering Guangdong province on the north), and the Chengdu Evening Post, in Sichuan province.
As readers can learn from our Media Map tool, the Nanguo Morning Post and the Nanguo Morning Post are both commercial spin-offs of Guangxi Daily, the province’s official Party mouthpiece. The first paper is located in Nanning, the second in Liuzhou.
The above-mentioned Xinhua article is played on the front page of four newspapers, Guangzhou Daily, Changsha Evening Post, Chengdu Evening Post and Jiangnan Metropolis Daily. In the case of the Changsha Evening Post, the article is in the lower left-hand corner, just above the banner ad (below).
Turning away from the Xinhua release on second round consultations, we have 6 articles in 5 newspapers (+China News Service) based on a second official news release from Xinhua News Agency — though 2 of these articles, at Beijing Daily and Changsha Evening Post are overlaps with the first list above, the two Xinhua releases having been combined.
1.“占中”严重影响经济民生 香港各界呼吁恢复正常秩序
Beijing Daily / 北京日报
Page 03
2.“占中”严重影响经济民生 香港各界呼吁恢复正常秩序
Guangming Daily / 光明日报
Page 03
3. “占中”严重影响经济民生
Shenzhen Metropolis Daily / 深圳都市报
Page A02
4.“占中”严重影响香港经济民生
Sichuan Daily / 四川日报
Page 06
5.“占领中环”非法集会严重影响经济民生香港各界呼吁恢复正常秩序
Changsha Evening Post / 长沙晚报
Page A01
Much more alarmist in tone, this Xinhua release says in the headline that “‘Occupy Central’ has a serious [adverse] effect on [the] economic livelihood” of Hong Kong.
Here is an image of page 3 of today’s Beijing Daily, the article combining the two Xinhua releases at the bottom left-hand side.
It has to be noted with utmost disgust that the 2nd Xinhua release contains patent falsehoods — the result either of consummately poor reporting or willful distortion of the truth. It reads at one point:
Professor Peter Mathieson, vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, called on students and teachers participating in ‘Occupy Central’ to immediately leave the site of the protest.
香港大学校长马斐森呼吁参与“占中”的师生尽快离开示威现场。
HKU’s vice-chancellor has not today, yesterday or at any time called on students and teachers to leave the protest. As the South China Morning Post has noted here, Peter Mathieson said yesterday that the university “profoundly regrets the escalation of events in recent days. We condemn violence of any kind by any party. We cannot understand the use of tear gas yesterday: the police and the government are accountable for that decision.”
Beyond these two Xinhua releases, we have 3 separate pieces today from the Chinese-language edition of the Global Times:
1. 港各界怒轰“无法无天” 策划者拒绝承担责任“占中”让香港一片狼借 — [not apparently available online]
2. “占中三子”须为骚乱负最大责任 — an angry diatribe arguing that “things unfolding as they have to now, the three instigators of Occupy Central must be given the utmost responsibility for this illegal movement going out of control.”
3. 占中”深层震荡香港经济 — about the deleterious affect of Occupy Central on the Hong Kong economy
