adv media in china censorship

8/9/2019 ADV Media in China Censorship

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Media in ChinaTeacher Day Time Branch TA Class

Caz

Note: This lesson plan is not acceptable for most university classes in China. Use this lesson plan

with extreme caution as it could lead to getting you fired and/or deported.

Resources:(all the material is attached at the end of this lesson plan)

Media Censorship in China information & Exercise Questions (4 pages)

Media Bias information (4 pages)

Articles for Media Bias exercise (10 pages)

Aim: Students will be able to brainstorm concepts of mediaStage:Presentation/

Practice

Time: 10

Method:

Free Talk with Ss to come up with ideas of what Media means

T assists Ss with the different streams of media:o Internet: broadcasting companies, blogs/ personal websites, podcasts,

advertising banners, email.o Television: news, TV documentaries (national geographic)o Cinema, Documentaries (The Inconvenient Truth)o Advertising: various media, content, buying and placement for

advertisingo Non Fiction books, educational textbookso Newspapers, Magazineso Research Journals: medical, psychology, media, etc.o Radio: news casts, talk back, current affairs,o

Speeches, DebatesComments

Aim: Students will be able to understand what media censorship isStage:PresentationTime: 5.

Method:

Discuss the definition of media censorshipo Definition: To examine media sources and prevent publication of

information thought to be unacceptable.www.apheda.org.au/campaigns/burma_schools_kit/resources/1074040257_16812.html

Comments

Aim: Students will be able to practice reading/ comprehensionStage:PracticeTime: 15.

Method:

Class is split into groups and use the Media Censorship in China article

Together as a group they are to read the article.Comments

Aim: Students will be able to answer questions about censorshipStage:ProductionTime: 20.

Method:

After Ss have read the article Ss are to complete the Questions on Censorship

sheet. Depending on the number of Groups/ Ss, select a spokesperson to answer a
http://www.apheda.org.au/campaigns/burma_schools_kit/resources/1074040257_16812.htmlhttp://www.apheda.org.au/campaigns/burma_schools_kit/resources/1074040257_16812.html


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question each.

Time is based on allowing 10 minutes to answer questions, and 10 to speak/discuss answers with class.

Comments

Aim: Students will be able to comprehend the terms bias and media biasStage:Presentation

Time: 5.

Method:

Free Talk what these terms are; provide definitions, discuss. Definition: Bias

o a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudicedconsideration of a question; prejudicehttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bias

Definition: Media Biaso Media bias is a term used to describe a real or perceived bias of

journalists and news producers within the mass media, in the selection ofwhich events will be reported and how they are covered.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_bias

o Who benefits from the bias in each media that is presented?

Comments65.

Aim: Students will be able to read/ review Media Bias articleStage:PracticeTime: 10

Method:

Ss read/ review Media Bias article in small groups.

T stops Ss intermittently to CCQ each subtopic. Ss are to illustratecomprehension by asking questions about topics, T is to elicit answers from Ssbefore offering suggests/ responses.

Comments

75.

Aim: Students will be able to evaluate news articlesStage:ProductionTime: 15.

Method:

T provides groups with one of the articles.

Ss work in groups to read/ evaluate their article and provide answers.

Ss elect a spokesperson who presents on behalf of group.

Class discusses/ asks questions of group.

Comments
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/biashttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/biashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_biashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_biashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_biashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_biashttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bias


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Media Censorship in Chinahttp://www.cfr.org/publication/11515

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing have drawn international attention to censorship in China.Watchdog groups say the preexisting monitoring system piles on new restrictions, and the governmentcontinues to detain and harass journalists. But the countrys burgeoning economy allows greaterdiversity in Chinas media coverage, and experts say the growing Chinese demand for information istesting a regime that is trying to use media controls in its bid to maintain power.

What is the official media policy in China?

As China becomes a major player in the global economy, authorities in Beijing are trying to balancethe need for more information with their goal of controlling content as a means to maintain power.CFR Senior Fellow Elizabeth C. Economy says the Chinese government is in a state ofschizophrenia about media policy as it goes back and forth, testing the line, knowing they needpress freedomand the information it provides but worried about opening the door to the type offreedoms that could lead to the regimes downfall.

Although President Hu Jintao was expected to be more liberal than his predecessors, his administration

has pursued a media policy that involves increased regulations as well as the arrest and prosecution of journalists. But in spite of a crackdown under Hu, Chinas media is undergoing a process ofcommercialization, leading to growing competition, diversified content, and an increase ininvestigative reporting by Chinese news agencies.

According to a government report, there are more than two thousand newspapers, over eight thousandmagazines, and some 374 television stations in the country. China also has over 150 million Internetusers and, despite restrictions governing online content, both domestic and international stories thatcensors would prefer to control slip through government information firewalls. Only state agencies canown media in China, but there is creeping privatization as outlets subcontract administrative operationsto the private sector.

How free is Chinese media?

The watchdog group Reporters Without Borders ranked China 163 out of 168 countries in its 2007index of press freedom. Chinas constitution affords its citizens freedom of speech and press, but thedocument contains broad language that says Chinese citizens must defend the security, honor, andinterests of the motherland. Chinese law includes media regulations with vague language thatauthorities use to claim stories endanger the country by sharing state secrets.

Journalists face harassment and prison terms for violating these rules and revealing classified matter.The governments monitoring structure promotes an atmosphere of self-censorship; if publishedmaterials are deemed dangerous to state security after they appear in the media, the information can

then be considered classified and journalists can be prosecuted.

How does China exert media controls?

The Chinese government uses different means of intimidation to control the media and inducejournalists to censor themselves rather than risk punishment. Censorship tactics include:

Dismissals and demotions. One of the most common punishments, say watchdog groups, is to fire ordemote editors and journalists who publish articles objectionable to the CPD.

Libel. Government officials occasionally use accusations of libel as a way to intimidate media outletsand publishing houses. Cases range from a journalist charged with libel for writing pieces critical of
http://www.cfr.org/publication/11515http://www.cfr.org/publication/11515http://www.cfr.org/publication/11515


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Communist Party leaders on foreign websites to an author whose book about the extortion of farmersby local officials was banned after one of the officials sued him and his publishing house.

Fines. In August 2007, China passed the Emergency Response Law, which bans the spread ofunverified information regarding riots, disasters, and other emergencies. Originally, the law threatenedto fine media sources up to $12,500 for violations, but it was redrafted with more ambiguous languagebefore it was passed.

Closing news outlets. News organizations that cover issues the CPD considers classified face closure.In a 2005 report, the Peoples Daily said 338 publications were shut down the previous year forprinting internal information.

Imprisonment. China imprisoned twenty-nine journalists in 2007, making it the worlds biggest jailorof reporters for the ninth year running, according to CPJ. Almost two-thirds of the jailed reporters werearrested for materials published on the Internet. One incarcerated foreign correspondent, Ching Cheongof Singapores Straits Times, was arrested in 2005 while reporting about leaders within the ChineseCommunist Party. Cheong was sentenced to five years in prison, plus one years deprivation ofpolitical rights. His arrest had a chilling effect on press freedom in Hong Kong, where he was based.

How does China control the influence of foreign media?

China requires foreign correspondents to get permission before making reporting trips within thecountry and reporters often face harassment if they cover delicate issues.As part of its bid to host the 2008 Olympics, China promised to relax constraints and be open in everyaspect to the rest of the country and the whole world.

In January 2007, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed a decree that allows foreign journalists to reportwithout permits before and during the Beijing Games. The decree also allows foreign journalists tointerview any individual or organization as long as the interviewee consents. The new guidelines cameinto effect on January 1, 2007, and will last through October 27, 2008.

But critics accuse China of reneging on its Olympic promise. The Foreign Correspondents Club ofChina reports that 180 foreign correspondents were detained, harassed, or attacked in China in 2007despite the nominally relaxed regulations. In addition, China continues to filter foreign (and domestic)content on the Internetin many cases using technology provided by U.S. companies such as Yahoo!,Microsoft, and Google.

One of the largest foreign uproars came when Beijing introduced regulations in September 2006requiring foreign wire services to distribute news through Xinhua instead of selling economicinformation directly to clients. CFRs Economy says the restrictions had less to do with media controlthan with a bid by Xinhua to cut into wire services profits. The move was brazen, says Dietz,

because even as Beijing continues prosecuting journalists who cover controversial social issues, Chinaknows it cannot afford to tamper with the flow of economic data, and that is where it will receive themost external pressure. But despite the pressure that foreign groups place on China, experts say thatcriticism coming from outside China will have little effect on policy.

How do journalists get around media control measures?

Despite the systematic control of news in Chinathe U.S. State Department estimates China hasbetween thirty thousand and fifty thousand Internet monitorseditors and journalists find ways to getnews past the censors. Esarey says the primary space for freedom of speech in China is the blogosphere,where journalists use humor and political satire to criticize the Chinese government.


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In mainstream media, editors find ways to test the rules as readers in Chinas flourishing economydemand hard news, says Dietz, and journalists covering social issues their editors wont publish willpost stories online, where the news will be released into cyberspace even if the original post is removed.

Dietz predicts press freedom will expand to meet the needs and demands not just of the governmentbut of the society. Chinese media broke the news about official suppression of information about the2003 SARS outbreak in Beijing. Similarly, after toxic chemicals leaked into a river and contaminateddrinking water in the northeast city of Harbin in 2005, newspapers and websites criticized governmentresponse, demanded greater transparency, and posted photos of area residents stockpiling bottledwater.


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Questions on Censorship

Ask questions in your group make sure you discuss your answers fully.

Select a spokesperson for your group to provide the answer to the class.

1. Before reading this article, were you aware that China had a Censorship Policy? What are yourthoughts on this policy?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Do you (or someone you know) have a personal website or blog? Have you ever had materialdeleted from the website?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Do you feel that you would like more freedom of information? What are some good & badreasons for free speech?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How do you think the world media views the Chinese censorships?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. How can China improve its international media relationships?

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7/16

ARTICLE 1:

A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash

By AMY HARMONPublished: August 23, 2008Excerpt from Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/education/24evolution.html?ref=todayspaper

STUDENTS Allie Farris, left, and Bryce Haas with their teacher David Campbellin sophomore biology class at Ridgeview High School in Orange Park, Fla.

ORANGE PARK, Fla. David Campbell switched on the overhead projector and wrote Evolutionin the rectangle of light on the screen.

He scanned the faces of the sophomores in his Biology I class. Many of them, he knew from years ofteaching high school in this Jacksonville suburb, had been raised to take the biblical creation story asfact. His gaze rested for a moment on Bryce Haas, a football player who attended the 6 a.m. prayermeetings of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the school gymnasium.

If I do this wrong, Mr. Campbell remembers thinking on that humid spring morning, Ill lose him.

In February, the Florida Department of Education modified its standards to explicitly require, for thefirst time, the states public schools to teach evolution, calling it the organizing principle of lifescience. Spurred in part by legal rulings against school districts seeking to favor religious versions ofnatural history, over a dozen other states have also given more emphasis in recent years to what haslong been the scientific consensus: that all of the diverse life forms on Earth descended from a commonancestor, through a process of mutation and natural selection, over billions of years.

But in a nation where evangelical Protestantism and other religious traditions stress a literal reading ofthe biblical description of Gods individually creating each species, students often arrive at schoolfearing that evolution, and perhaps science itself, is hostile to their faith.

Some come armed with Ten questions to ask your biology teacher about evolution, a documentcirculated on the Internet that highlights supposed weaknesses in evolutionary theory. Others scrawltheir opposition on homework assignments. Many just tune out.With a mandate to teach evolution but little guidance as to how, science teachers are contriving theirown ways to turn a culture war into a lesson plan. How they fare may bear on whether a newgeneration of Americans embraces scientific evidence alongside religious belief.

If you see something you dont understand, you have to ask why? or how? Mr. Campbell oftenadmonished his students at Ridgeview High School.

Yet their abiding mistrust in evolution, he feared, jeopardized their belief in the basic power of science

to explain the natural world and their ability to make sense of it themselves.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/amy_harmon/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/amy_harmon/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/education/24evolution.html?ref=todayspaperhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/education/24evolution.html?ref=todayspaperhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/education/24evolution.html?ref=todayspaperhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/amy_harmon/index.html?inline=nyt-per


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Passionate on the subject, Mr. Campbell had helped to devise the states new evolution standards,which will be phased in starting this fall. A former Navy flight instructor not used to pulling hispunches, he fought hard for their passage. But with his students this spring, he found himself treadingcarefully, as he tried to bridge an ideological divide that stretches well beyond his classroom.

Note: full article found in above webpage.

Exercise: Answer question in groups: elect a spokesperson to present to class.

What type of media is this article?

How could this article be seen as biased?

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9/16

ARTICLE 2:

http://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=177791&showcomments=true

Kate Moss wasn't anorexic... she just had no food!

Thats right, folks. The supermodel infamous for a string of cocaine scandals nowclaims that shes never been anorexic - but that she was simply too busy to eat.

Kate told Interview magazine: "I was never anorexic, so I was never that skinny... I was never bony-bony. But I remember thinking, 'I don't want to be this skinny."

And that's fair enough... but Kate's eating habits, or lack of, didn't help her cause.

"I didn't eat for a long time," she said. "Not on purpose. You'd be on shoots with bad food or get on a

plane, and the food would be so disgusting you couldn't eat it.

"You go to a show, and there's no food at all, so if you're doing shows back to back, you can forgeteating."

Cmon! Nobody really loves plane food, but as if the grumbling of an empty stomach is any better!

The 57 model candidly acknowledged that she too was worried about her uber-thin bod."I remember standing up in the bath one day, and there was a mirror in front of me, and I was so thin! Ihated it," she says. "I never liked being that skinny."

Here's hoping Kate is now setting a good example for her 5-year-old daughter, Lila Grace.
http://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=177791&showcomments=truehttp://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=177791&showcomments=truehttp://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=177791&showcomments=truehttp://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogid=2022


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Kate rejects claims she was anorexic.Either way, she was still way too thin!




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ARTICLE 3:

www.chinadaily.com.cnAugust 25, 2008

One world, one dream, one million volunteersBy Daniel LibmanChina Daily Staff WriterUpdated: 2008-08-25 07:23http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-08/25/content_6967019.htm

Wang Jue had dreamed of becoming an Olympic volunteer for three years, from the day in July 2005when he learned he had been accepted to a university in Beijing.

After taking 160 hours of classes over five semesters, in subjects ranging from Olympic history to journalism, he at last got the chance to serve during the Beijing Olympics as a professional media

volunteer.

Wang says that his training improved his communication skills and gave him the confidence to interactwith journalists from around the world.

He was a Help Desk Assistant at the International Broadcast Center,decked out in busy waves of yellow, blue, grey, and white, the officialvolunteer uniform.

Arsen Kasabiev of Georgia (C) falls afterfailing a lift as volunteers use boards tohide him in the men's 94 kg weightliftingevent during the 2008 Beijing OlympicGames in Beijing on August 17, 2008.[Agencies]

The surrounding desks and tables were stacked high with city maps andbrochures in countless languages.

"Working with journalists is quite fun," he says. "You can always offersomebody something, and this kind of giving can make you happy."

During his time on the job, Wang and his enthusiastic colleagues have alsothought a lot about what it means to be a volunteer.

"For many Chinese students, it's the first chance to be volunteers. It'spretty precious and valuable," says Linna Bie, who was a TransportationDesk Assistant during the Olympics.

Hong Chen, a volunteer director and physics professor at Tsinghua University, puts the experience inperspective. "Organizing work is very tough," she says. "Getting people from different circles workingtogether at the same time is such a challenge."The Beijing Olympics received more than one million volunteer applications, of which 74,715 wereaccepted, plus 30,000 for the Paralympic Games. However, Zhang Juming, deputy director of theVolunteer Work Department of the Organizing Committee for the Beijing Olympic Games, says that 1million people in fact volunteered services in various fields, including medical, traffic and securityassistance. That's the equivalent of the entire population of Guatemala helping to run a sporting event.

Zhang thinks volunteerism will be one of the most powerful legacies of the Olympics. "The Games

will foster an attitude of mass participation and long-term growth of the volunteer mentality in China,"
http://www.chinadaily.cn/olympics/http://www.chinadaily.cn/index.htmlhttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-08/25/content_6967019.htmhttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-08/25/content_6967019.htmhttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-08/25/content_6967019.htmhttp://www.chinadaily.cn/index.htmlhttp://www.chinadaily.cn/olympics/


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he said during a press conference. Due to the experience of managing the Olympic volunteer program,he believes that China will be able to run more volunteer initiatives in the future.

Many Chinese Olympic volunteers took great pride in their work and their contribution to history."Without the volunteers, there could be no great Olympics," says Wang. "Maybe it's the biggest everevent in China, and maybe the biggest event of my lifetime."

Linna sees her volunteer job as a win-win situation. "On the one hand I can serve the country," sheexplains. "And on the other hand I can improve myself through inner evaluation and innerimprovement."

Even after the Beijing Olympics conclude, the spirit of service will live on in the hearts of manyvolunteers. "When this Games ends, it's not ending, but a new beginning," says Linna.




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ARTICLE 4:

www.chinadaily.com.cnAugust 25, 2008

Suicide bomber kills 25 west of Baghdad(Agencies)Updated: 2008-08-25 09:08Excerpt from Full Article: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-08/25/content_6967591.htm

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday in the midst of a celebration to welcomehome an Iraqi detainee released from US custody, killing at least 25 people, Iraqi officials said.

The US military, meanwhile, announced the arrest of an al-Qaida in Iraq figure who allegedly plannedthe 2006 kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll -- one of the highest-profile attacks againstWesterners in Iraq.

The suicide attack occurred inside one of several tents set up outside a house in the Abu Ghraib area onBaghdad's western outskirts, according to residents and police. It was unclear if the former detaineewas among the casualties.

A woman who was wounded but declined to give her name for securityreasons said she was preparing food behind the tents when the blast occurredat about 9 p.m., knocking her and her three young children off their feet.

Residents and police said Ayyid Salim al-Zubaie, a local sheik in the mainlySunni area, had invited dozens of guests to a banquet in honor of his son,who was released earlier in the day from Camp Bucca in southern Iraq.

Residents said the detainee-son had quarreled with al-Qaida members whilein detention and may have been the target of the attack. The guests alsoincluded several members of the local awakening council, a US-allied groupthat has turned against al-Qaida.

Yassir al-Jumaili, a doctor at the hospital in nearby Fallujah where most ofthe wounded were taken, gave the death toll as 25 and said at least 29 other

people were wounded. The blast was a grim reminder of the dangers still facing Iraqis despite a sharpdecrease in violence after the 2007 US troop buildup, a Sunni decision to join forces with theAmericans against al-Qaida and a Shiite militia cease-fire.

An Iraqi boy inspects the damageafter a suicide bomb attack at a cardealership in the northern Iraqi cityof Kirkuk. [Agencies]

Note: Full article can be found in above website.
http://www.chinadaily.cn/index.htmlhttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-08/25/content_6967591.htmhttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-08/25/content_6967591.htmhttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-08/25/content_6967591.htmhttp://www.chinadaily.cn/index.html


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15/16

ARTICLE 5:

BBC News Updated every minute of every day

China deports US Tibet protesters

Page last updated at 03:53 GMT, Monday, 25 August 2008 04:53 UKhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7580381.stm

China has deported eight Americans detained in Beijing last week

for demonstrating about Tibet during the Olympic Games.

The eight left China on Sunday while the closing ceremony was takingplace after American officials pressed for them to be released.

Washington had voiced "disappointment" that China had not used theOlympics "to demonstrate greater tolerance".

Two other detainees, a Briton and a German, were reportedly alsofreed.

Signs of dissent have been rare duringthe Beijing Olympics

The eight Americans were deported by the Chinese authorities at 2100 Chinese time (1300 GMT) onSunday on a China Air flight to Los Angeles, the White House said.

They had been among dozens of foreigners who evaded security checks to demonstrate in favour ofTibetan independence and were arrested on 20-21 August.

They had faced up to 10 days in custody after hanging a "Free Tibet" banner near an Olympic venueand holding other small demonstrations.

Briton Mandie McKeown is expected to arrive home on Monday.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown had raised Ms McKeown's case when he met his Chinesecounterpart, Wen Jiabao, in Beijing on Friday.

Florian Norbu Gyanatshang, an ethnic Tibetan German, is said by German media to have been releasedand to be on his way home.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7580381.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7580381.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7580381.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/blq/mast/home/-/home/d/


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