. Space Industry and Business News .




.
SINO DAILY
China orders stricter control of Internet, media
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Oct 27, 2011


China has ordered stricter control of social networking sites and a crackdown on "vulgar" material on the web, as Beijing attempts to tighten its grip on the fast-growing Internet sector.

China's Communist leaders made the call in a list of "cultural development guidelines" released this week, which analysts say are designed to strengthen the government's control of the web and make state-run media more competitive.

The growing popularity of privately owned social networking sites in a country with more than 500 million people online has alarmed Beijing, as more and more web users take to the Internet to vent their anger.

China said this week that police had begun to detain and punish people for spreading rumours online, as authorities intensify efforts to censor content on the Internet.

Communist Party chiefs agreed on the directives at a secretive annual meeting in Beijing earlier this month. The state Xinhua news agency said they were aimed at preserving "cultural security" and expanding Chinese soft power.

"We should strengthen the guidance and management of tools such as social networking and instant messaging applications," said the Communist Party Central Committee document, which was published by state media outlets.

"We should punish according to the law the practice of spreading harmful information and push forward the campaign to crack down on Internet pornography and vulgar information."

The lengthy directive also called for better supervision of China's vast media industry to "improve positive publicity" and guide public opinion on "hot and hard social issues".

David Bandurski, a researcher at the University of Hong Kong's China Media Project, said the directive "reinforces the message of control -- make money but we are watching."

"There is no sign of any real relaxing of restrictions," he added.

For the past decade Beijing has been encouraging state-run media to be more competitive and less reliant on state subsidies, which has led to more critical reporting and racier programming as outlets compete for readers and viewers.

But the trend towards more free-wheeling reporting has undermined official efforts to control public opinion and unnerved authorities who have seen previously obedient media outlets criticise their decisions.

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries




China's CCTV to expand overseas operations: Xinhua
Beijing (AFP) Oct 27, 2011 - China's state broadcaster CCTV plans to expand its global operations next year, state media said Thursday, as Beijing seeks to boost the country's influence overseas.

China Central Television (CCTV) will increase the number of foreign correspondent positions to 80 in 2012 from the 66 it expects to have at the end of this year, the official Xinhua news agency said.

It also plans to set up two studios in North America and Africa, each employing more than 200 people, the report said, without specifying where.

Xinhua did not say how many studios CCTV currently has around the world.

The expansion in is line with Beijing's publicly stated aim to preserve China's "cultural security" and boost the country's soft power overseas.

The government has earmarked 45 billion yuan ($7.1 billion) to fund the expansion of state-owned media groups including Xinhua, CCTV and CRI radio, according to previous media reports.

Communist Party chiefs agreed on a list of "cultural development guidelines" at a secretive annual meeting in Beijing earlier this month, partly aimed at making Chinese media more competitive in foreign markets.

In recent years, CCTV has launched channels in Russian, Arabic, Spanish and French in addition to its overseas Chinese-language and English service.

Several key Chinese newspapers have also launched English-language editions, and government agencies such as the defence ministry have created English versions of their websites as part of the country's soft power push.



.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



SINO DAILY
China lawmakers mull greater powers for police
Beijing (AFP) Oct 26, 2011
China's top lawmakers are considering granting police powers to make more frequent citizen ID checks, state media said on Wednesday, sparking criticism from rights lawyers. A draft legal amendment being debated this week would allow police to check people's identity documents at train stations, airports and major events, the Global Times daily said. Under current law, police may only che ... read more


SINO DAILY
RIM stock suffers on new tablet software stall

Reversing course, Hewlett-Packard to keep PC unit

Video game makers ready barrage of blockbusters

Wearable depth-sensing projection system makes any surface capable of multitouch interaction

SINO DAILY
First MEADS Battle Manager Begins Integration Testing in the United States

Elbit Establishes Israeli MOD Comms Equipment Supply Upgrade and Maintenance Project

Boeing FAB-T Demonstrates High-Data-Rate Communications with AEHF Satellite Test Terminal

NRL TacSat-4 Launches to Augment Communications Needs

SINO DAILY
SpaceX Completes Key Milestone to Fly Astronauts to International Space Station

ILS Proton Launches ViaSat-1 for ViaSat

Final checks for first Soyuz launch from Kourou

Soyuz is put through its paces for Thursday's launch

SINO DAILY
Russia to launch four Glonass satellites in November

One Soyuz launcher, two Galileo satellites, three successes for Europe

Soyuz places Galileo satellites in orbit - mission control

GPS shoes for Alzheimer's patients to hit US

SINO DAILY
Boeing Dreamliner makes first commercial flight

Calif. airship reaches record height

Boeing Dreamliner to make first commercial flight

EU rebukes US Congress over airline emissions rules

SINO DAILY
NIST measures key property of potential spintronic material

Superlattice Cameras Add More 'Color' to Night Vision

A new scheme for photonic quantum computing

Point defects in super-chilled diamonds may offer stable candidates for quantum computing bits

SINO DAILY
Lockheed Martin Begins GeoEye-2 Satellite Integration

Better use of Global Geospatial Information for Solving Development Challenges

NASA postpones climate satellite launch to Oct 28

NASA Readies New Type of Earth-Observing Satellite for Launch

SINO DAILY
'Historic' deal to halt hazardous waste export to south

Fresh oil pollution reported in Nigerian region

Home washing machines: Source of potentially harmful ocean 'microplastic' pollution

Pollutants linked to a 450 percent increase in risk of birth defects


.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement