Party elders and a high official at the State Council have been adding an
interesting new tone to the discussion on press freedom and Internet
censorship in China. A group of very senior party veterans has written a letter to
warn against too much censorship,
writes the
BCC.
"History demonstrates that only a totalitarian system needs news censorship,
out of the delusion that it can keep the public locked in ignorance," the
group said in the letter, according to the Reuters news agency.
The rather unique reaction comes after a whole set of closures of official
media outlets because they did not toe the party line 100 percent.
Even more unprecedented is a public defense of the Chinese Internet
regulations by
Liu Zhengrong, an official of the State Council, China's
highest administrative body (mentioned in an
earlier item here by
Martha Stone).
He claims that the way China regulates is not that different from the West.
China very seldom addresses Internet issues publicly. Internally, more than a
dozen government agencies and ministries have a collective responsibility,
making it almost impossible for them to speak with one voice.
