Press freedom group condemns ban on reporting of fatal explosion in China
Originally published by Journalsm.co.uk,24 Aug 2010
By Rachel McAthy
The International Federation of Journalists has condemned a ban by the Chinese authorities’ on the reporting of a fatal explosion in the country.
According to a report on the organisation’s Ethical Journalism Initiative website, China’s Central Propaganda Department ordered that no media were to report on the explosion which occurred in Aksu City, western China last week, killing seven people and injuring 14.
The order also outlined that the press must not republish reports by the state-owned Xinhua News Agency who had allegedly already reported that the explosion was caused by a bomb.
According to the report, the agency’s article stated that “the motive behind what appears to be a bomb blast in China’s western Xinjiang region is not yet clear (…) But many will suspect it is linked to the region’s ongoing ethnic tension”.
The IFJ said it urges the authorities to lift the reporting ban immediately, claiming that “in times of crisis it is essential that the public is able to access updated and credible information”.
“Blanket bans and restricting people’s access to the news will allow rumour and hearsay to proliferate,” IFJ general secretary Aidan White said in the report. “Distorted information risks inflaming already tense situations, which is partly what happened around the time of riots in the Uyghur Autonomous Region in 2009.”
The IFJ added that Chinese authorities are “particularly sensitive” about the region of Xinjiang, which was the scene of riots last year, allegedly sparked by ethnic tensions and resulting in the death of almost 200 people.
As a result the Central Propaganda Department is understood to have put a number of restrictive measures in place, including shutting down all local internet and communication devices until May this year.