BEIJING: China’s ruling Communist Party told the already tightly monitored state media yesterday that they should not be reporting on “wrong points of view” and instead cover positive stories that promote “socialist values”.
Traditionally, Chinese state media has been the key vehicle for party propaganda. But reforms over the past decade that have allowed greater media commercialisation and some increase in editorial independence, combined with the rise of social media, have weakened government control, according to academics.
However, since Xi Jinping became party chief and then national president, he has overseen a media crackdown to bring newspapers in particular back in line.
Under new guidelines to enforce “core socialist values”, the media must “steadfastly uphold the correct guidance of public opinion”.
“Strengthen the management of the media, do not provide channels for the propagation of the wrong points of view,” read the guidelines, which were published by the official Xinhua news agency.
“News and publishing organs and those who work in the industry must strengthen self-regulation, and earnestly increase their sense of responsibility and ability to promote core socialist values,” it added.
Reuters
