Censorship

China became a signatory member to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 5th October 1998. However, China has never ratified the Covenant.

“In reality, China systematically violates all these freedoms through policies of censorship, surveillance and punishment. Every publication and all news goes through a sophisticated screening process and requires the consent of the Communist Party. The general public has little knowledge about the outside world since the information inflow and outflow are strictly screened and monitored by the authorities. Most of the journals and media are state-owned and feed people with news laden with official party ideology and propaganda.”
Excerpt from the 62nd Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (2006)

According to Reporters Without Borders, China ranked 163rd out of 168 in the 2006 worldwide press freedom index. China controls the flow of information from the public media (newspapers, radio, TCV, internet, printed material), as well as monitoring private e-mails and phone exchanges. Tibetans are also routinely monitored when suspected of interacting with the outside world, and are often at threat of arrest and long-term detention.

The government blocks access to television and radio stations with Tibetan language news services operating outside Tibet and China such as Radio Free Asia, Voice of America and Voice of Tibet.

Images of thousands of Tibetans protesting in 2008 were smuggled out of Tibet and seen across the world

Books by the Dalai Lama, or books deemed to be politically challenging to China are also banned.
In universities, professors cannot lecture on politically sensitive topics, and many reportedly are required to attend political education sessions.

In March and April 2008, the Chinese regime used its strict controls of television and other media to paint a misleading picture of the protests which erupted across Tibet, re-using a brief piece of footage showing Tibetans kicking a shop door and using this to inform the Chinese public that Tibetans were taking part in widespread acts of vandalism against Chinese businesses. In fact, only a handful of the thousands of protesters took part in such activity, and footage of both the brutal crackdowns and the hundreds of peaceful protests were not aired by state television.

However, after Free Tibet and other organisations obtained photo, video and testimonial evidence of what was really happening in Tibet, the international media weighed up the evidence and reported the situation as it really was, leading to international condemnation of the crackdown on peaceful protesters in Tibet.

These reports themselves led to a reaction from the Chinese authorities, who instead of addressing the evidence exposed by news agencies, targeted the agencies themselves, accusing respected companies such as CNN of spreading lies about China, and most seriously of all, by expelling all foreign journalists from Tibet, preventing anything but state-approved news from emerging during a time of social unrest and brutal reaction.

Again, during the Olympic Torch Relay protests of April 2008, the Chinese state attempted to prevent evidence of mass protests being seen by the Chinese community in an attempt to continue the illusion that China is a 'harmonious nation', despite the uprising in Tibet. This became a comedy of errors as the relay was continually re-arranged and otherwise altered to ensure positive camera footage was available for the time-delayed coverage on Chinese state media. In San Francisco, this even led to the torch being hidden from live TV crews, chased by helicopters and finally run through deserted streets so as to avoid having protesters within camera shot.

As with the protests in Tibet, the international media were unconvinced by the positive spin put on the Torch Relay, which was generally regarded as a chaotic farce by the international community, and even the International Olympic Committee, who have reacted by stating that it is possible that Torch Relays will never be run again following the Beijing Games.

During the Games itself, the regime continued to control access to information, and encouraged National Olympic Committees to ensure their athletes did not bring knowledge of Chinese policies into the public arena by speaking openly about politics during their time in Beijing. These attempts were foiled by foreign journalists, who continued to report on China's abysmal human rights record during the Games, by dissidents, who used technology to communicate both with each other and the outside world, and by protesters, who staged a series of banner-drops and other actions in Beijing, highlighting human rights issues in China and Tibet.

Although the Chinese state enjoys almost complete control of information within its borders, the Chinese people are growing more resourceful in finding out the true facts about their government for themselves. With more and more Chinese students studying overseas, many more Chinese nationals are becoming aware of the true face of their government and its policies.

Propaganda

Use of propaganda is commonplace in China, and is an integral element of the government's approach to controling and influencing public opinion. Since independent information networks are all but banned and state control permeates all aspects of civilian life from schooling to TV, film, advertising and of course politics, people living in China and occupied territories find it very difficult to obtain true information about what is going on inside their own borders, let alone in the outside world. As the population becomes more internet savvy, the Chinese state's strangehold on information access diminishes, resulting in an increasing volume of time, manpower and capitol being spent on new ways to control the internet and other technologies.

Most Chinese citizens have been taught a propagandist view of history, culture and sociology from a young age, and many who travel outside China are shocked to find that the Chinese government is not held in as high regard across the world as the state insists. Suddenly, Chinese citizens traveling abroard are faced with evidence of horrific human rights abuses in their own country and are startled to find that in actual fact many ethnic, national, political and spiritual groups within Chinese borders are mistreated by the regime and have moved into exile in huge numbers. Naturally, Chinese citizens travelling abroard often do not believe this at first, and assume that state propaganda about Western plots to undermine Chinese power are the true source of these apparent human rights abuses. But as they realise that unlike in China, information access is more open in the outside world, the reality sinks in that the Chinese government is treating its own citizens with the same distain as it does oppressed minorities inside China, and the protective shell of propaganda begins to crack.

Alongside Tiananmen Square and Falun Gung, Tibet is one of China's achilles heels. Support for human rights and freedom in Tibet is high in the outside world, where the arguments put forward by the Chinese government are derided as baseless and insincere. In contrast, the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan figures are praised in the outside world for their tactful and constructive approach to the situation. Chinese government propaganda on Tibet is a huge enterprise which is designed to ensure that Chinese people inside China do not begin to question the state's authority on the issue, and that China is able to continue exploiting Tibet's huge mineral resources and land mass without complaint.

The huge military presence on Tibetan streets does not help convince Chinese citizens that Tibetans are happy with Chinese rule

In 2001, a document was leaked which illustrates the brazen use of propaganda regarding the Tibet issue and the lengths to which the Chinese government will go to keep its own citizens in the dark about the harsh realities of its activities in the region and its (hugely unsuccessful) attempts to make such propaganda stick in the outside world.

The document is an account of a conference statement made by State Council Information Minister Zhao Qizheng, who said on 12 June 2000:

'External publicity on Tibet is an important element of our country's external propaganda. It is also a very important element of our struggle against the Dalai clique* and hostile western forces. We need to carry out result-oriented and pin-pointed research on Tibet issue. We also need to carry out diligent external propaganda on Tibet. These efforts are related not only to national and nationalities unity, but also to the open-door reform, progress and stability of our country. Therefore, this is the common responsibility of our propaganda department and cultural institutes.

The so-called issue of Tibet is the main pretext for western countries, including the United States, to westernize and split our country. Western countries, including the United States, want to topple our country and further the cause of their own social and value systems and national interests. In order to achieve this, they will never stop using the Tibet issue to westernize and split our country and weaken our power. The Dalai clique has never changed its splittist nature; it has never stopped its activities to split our country. Therefore, our struggle against the Dalai clique and hostile western forces is long-drawn, serious and complicated. 

Presently, the struggle between us and the Dalai clique has taken a new turn. Since last year, western countries, mainly the United States, have started military intervention in the affairs of the Yugoslavian federation. This successful intervention in the name of ethnic religion led to a serious development of a new culture of interventionism, which, in turn, has resulted in an increase in the use of Tibet issue. The US Administration is employing a doubled-faced strategy, by which it combines the pressure for Sino-Tibet dialogues with open support to the Dalai. The US support for the Dalai clique is becoming ever more pronounced. The Dalai clique, by strengthening its unholy alliance with international anti-China elements and powers, combines clamour for dialogues with activities to internationalize the Tibet issue. It employs carrot-and-stick policy to openly oppose and split China. Indications of its renewed violent activities are becoming more apparent. 

The Dalai clique's strategy is to split the Motherland, win political support and UN actions... Organized splittist campaigns against China has accelerated with more openness and greater urgency. Over the past few years, the Dalai clique has taken advantage of anniversaries and UN-sponsored international conferences to repeatedly undertake varying commemorative campaigns and demonstrations in order to raise hullabaloo over Tibet issue in all directions. During every foreign visit of our leaders, last year, the Dalai clique, with covert incitement and help from western countries as well as Tibet Support Groups, interfered and created disruption through protest rallies... The Dalai clique has increased its activities to cement ties with other ethnic splittist forces and anti-China forces. In order to achieve the aim of Tibetan independence, the Dalai clique has strengthened interdependent ties among different domestic and international splittist and anti-China forces, such as the independence movements of Taiwan and Xinjiang, democracy movements, Falung Gong and conservative elements.

The world media is monopolized by westerners. The Dalai clique's long deceptive propaganda, having taken a lead, has a good standing in the world public opinion. In addition, they use modern media facilities like Internet, films, television, etc. to carry out massive propaganda in a number of imaginative ways. As a result of this, lies advocated and spread by them are considered as reliable facts on the issue of Tibet. The westerners' powerful machinery for making public opinion has created a lot of misunderstanding about our country in the minds of foreigners. Similarly, there are lots of biased views. On top of this, the eastern and western views on human rights are different.

Our struggle for the international public opinion will be more rigorous and complicated than ever before. Our external propaganda work on Tibet will be very difficult. Therefore, we must work hard and make improvements. At the same time, we must know the overall benefit of our external propaganda on Tibet and favourable conditions for carrying this out. 

Since 1991 the Central Government's External Propaganda Department has organized a series of annual meetings to review, plan and organize our external propaganda work on Tibet. Our external propaganda against the Dalai clique and hostile western forces has continued to make improvements over the past decade. With the passage of time, our propaganda has become more effective, and target and goal clearer. We have formed a special group to carry out external propaganda and have succeeded in protecting our national interests and improving our image. We have made relentless efforts over the past decade to publicize Tibet's progress and development.

In addition, under the direction of the Central Government's External Propaganda Department, we have published over 500 news reports and made nearly 100 films and television programs, exposing the Dalai clique's crime, which were distributed in over 100 regions. We have also published and distributed over 2 million copies of more than 60 types of Tibet-related information material, such as articles, translations, booklets, flyers, posters, etc.

(Chinese state run) Tibetology institutes, in the form of grassroots level institutes and in a well-planned, goal-oriented manner-should build connections with relevant foreign organizations and individuals, and organize exchange programs... They should try to understand the manner in which foreigners create public opinion; they should propagate our government's policy in Tibet and progress of Tibet... They should work hard and attain success in changing foreign public opinion on Tibet issue.

In short, we should make every effort to convert the Tibetology institutes and specialists into an effective army of our external propaganda for public opinion on Tibet.'

The Chinese government dedicates a huge amount of effort on maintaining the propagandist perspective which is outlined in this document, but often the lack of debate allowed on the issue itself exposes the Chinese government as the instigator of this propaganda. Though paranoia over supposed 'western' infleunce is an effective emotive force within China, as more Chinese citizens study and do business outside state-controlled terrirtory, they see for themselves that it is government which allow debate on such issues which are more confident that their viewpoint is correct. This exposure results in what the Chinese state fears most; the empowerment of its own people and the threat that Chinese people may in fact choose to form alternative political entities which would rule China in a more open, positive and progressive manner. This would put power out of the hands of an increasingly fearful and possesive elite and into the hands of the Chinese people, where it belongs.

As with all propagandist information networks however, it is much harder to maintain mistruths than it is to reveal reality, and growing numbers of Chinese citizens are becoming aware that their government is lying to them. The Chinese people will not tolerate such manipulation forever.

*Chinese state sources and media often use the term 'Dalai Clique' to describe any pro-Tibet or pro-Tibetan rights groups. It is used to underline the propagandist view that the Dalai Lama somehow controls all such groups; another claim which is flatly rejected outside Chinese state media controlled sources.

In China, discussion of the Tiananmen massacre is censored.
But in the outside world, survivors are able to honour Chinese citizens murdered by their own government