Fei Chang Dao

On February 14, 2016, Hu Xijin (胡锡进), Editor-In-Chief of the state sponsored Global Times, posted the following from an iPhone 6 Plus to his Sina Weibo account : China still needs more open channels for airing views, and should encourage and tolerate constructive criticism, and should have a certain accommodation for non-constructive criticism. Allowing more airing of views will result in certain problems, but it will bring with it even more benefits. The history of modern China proves there is an intimate and inseparable relationship between tolerating the airing of views and the vitality of society, and the State is entirely capable of addressing the problems that it brings about. One hopes that government agencies and officials and all levels and all places will be able to make their own contributions to achieving a broader airing of views. 中国还是应多放开言路，鼓励、宽容建设性批评，对非建设性批评也应有一定承受力。言路宽松会导致一些问题，但它带来的好处更多些。新中国的历史证明，言路 宽松与社会活力的关系密不可分，而对于它导致的问题，国家的应对能力是宽裕的。希望政府各部门、各级和各地官员都能为实现言路更宽做出自己贡

On February 19, 2016, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “ China's Xi Underscores CPC's Leadership in News Reporting .” Some excerpts: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday ordered news media run by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government to strictly follow the Party's leadership. Speaking in a symposium Friday afternoon after touring China's three leading news providers, the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, Xi, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, called Party- and government-run news outlets the "publicity fronts" of the party and the government. All news media run by the Party must work to speak for the Party's will and its propositions and protect the Party's authority and unity, Xi said. That same day, Wu Qing (吴庆), whose Baidu Baike entry says is a commentator for CCTV-2, posted the following images on his verified Sina Weibo account. Th

On January 19, 2016, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “ CSRC Denies Reuters Report of Chairman’s Resignation .” Some excerpts: The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has called on Reuters to make a correction following its report claiming that CSRC Chairman Xiao Gang had offered to resign, saying the Reuters report was "inconsistent with the facts." . . . . Reuters on Monday quoted anonymous sources as saying that Xiao had offered to resign after "perceived mismanagement wiped more than $5 trillion off the value of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets since they peaked last June." At 10:41 am on February 20, 2016, the Global Times published an article entitled “ Liu Shiyu Replaces Xiao Gang as Head of China's Securities Watchdog .” Some excerpts: China's State Council has decided to replace Xiao Gang with Liu Shiyu as the new chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Xinhua News Agency rep

On January 7, 2016, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported that the Xinjiang branch of the Cyber Administration of China shut down a public Wechat (Weixin 微信) account for six days because of what it termed a “malicious headline.” According to the report, the offending headline read “Major Accident Outside of Urumqi - 22 Dead, 5 Wounded” (乌市南郊出大事了——２２死５伤).  The actual content of the article was “A major traffic accident occurred outside of Urumqi, 22 sheep were killed and 5 sheep were injured” (乌市南郊发生交通事故，致２２只羊死亡，５只羊受伤). According to the government, this discrepancy was a violation of the “ Interim Rules on the Development and Administration of Instant Messaging Tools and Public Information Services ” (即时通信工具公众信息服务发展管理暂行规定). Misreporting traffic accident fatalities is a jailable offense in China. For example, according to a report in the state sponsored Southern Metropolis Daily , in August 2013, the Wudangshan public security bureau subjected a Mr. Xue to five days admi