By David Bandurski — It’s been a topsy turvy week for Wu Hao (伍皓), the deputy propaganda chief who orchestrated the much-discussed “Internet investigation” into Yunnan’s “eluding the cat” case. The young journalist-turned-cadre has been both roundly praised and widely criticized. So far, however, Wu Hao has managed to keep his cool. Many have marveled […]
By David Bandurski — An article in yesterday’s edition of Nanfang Daily, the official party newspaper of Guangdong province, reported that airport security in Guangzhou foiled a pair of terrorists bound for Kunming to carry out a bomb attack. The only problem was that news of the supposed plot came not from security personnel but […]
By David Bandurski — A lot has been written about China’s response to the May 12 earthquake as a test of the leadership’s commitment to openness. But the flood of quake-related news and information over the last few weeks has also tested the Chinese public’s commitment to the truth. [Frontpage Image: Screenshot of QQ.com coverage […]
By David Bandurski (班志远) — We’ve written extensively at CMP about the institutional causes of poor media professionalism in China — from the Lan Chengzhang case to the more recent “cardboard bun” hoax. Anticipating CMP fellow Lu Ye’s talk tonight on media corruption, we return again to the question of the deeper causes of poor […]
Sure, there are four months left on the calendar. But it’s probably not premature to declare 2007 the “Year of the Fakes” in China – not least in Chinese journalism. The year kicked off with the tragic beating death of “fake journalist” (假记者) Lan Chengzhang. Unflagging cases of “fake news” culminated in June with the […]
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 […]
August 7 — In a bold and rare show of domestic concern over China’s human rights record and its international image as the 2008 Olympic Games near, 39 Chinese lawyers, scholars and journalists signed an open letter to China’s top leaders today appealing for more action on human rights. Capitalizing on China’s official theme for […]
This summer, with its damaging revelations of fake news, has been one of discontent for the Chinese media. First came the “cardboard bun affair.” Next came the apocryphal news story of the “worst stepmother in history,” exposed as a “well-intentioned” hoax about domestic abuse aimed at drumming up financial support for a young girl suffering […]
July 17 — A top official in China’s Information Office, the government arm chiefly responsible for controlling China’s internet, called the cover-up of negative news by local officials “naive”. Appearing on a CCTV talk show on July 13, Wang Guoqing said some government offices were “relatively naive” in “covering up” negative news and preventing media […]
The steamed bun may now have become one of the most befitting symbols we have for the riddle of free speech and public trust in China. Almost two days after Beijing TV issued a public apology, for a “fake” July 8 report alleging food vendors in Beijing were filling steamed buns with waste cardboard, the […]
