Critics Dispute Impact of China's Revised Media Rules

CRITICS DISPUTE IMPACT OF CHINA'S REVISED MEDIA RULES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Maureen Fan]
Journalism and human rights groups on Tuesday blasted China's efforts to further control the distribution of news and financial information by foreign news agencies, saying revised regulations showed that the government was tightening censorship. But other experts said the impact of the new rules was limited in a country that already bans direct delivery of general news to Chinese media. They said the new rules signaled an attempt by China's state media to grab a piece of the lucrative financial information market. The New China News Agency, mouthpiece for the Communist Party, announced revisions Sunday to 10-year-old regulations governing foreign news agencies in China. The new rules explicitly forbid foreign agencies to distribute news that undermines China's national unity or sovereignty or endangers China's national security, reputation and interests. Under the rules, agencies cannot include content banned under Chinese laws, and the New China News Agency has the right to decide what news and information will be released in China and can delete anything it deems inappropriate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/12/AR2006091201403.html
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