How Does Censorship Work in China?

Welcome to Foreign policyChina’s summary.

I have spent many years working within the Chinese media, both state -owned, especially, and I find that many people outside the country misunderstand a major part of these institutions. So, this week, we take a deep diving Control in ChinaFocusing on official publishing operations instead of social media – a topic that I will return to in a future column.

The many stages of Chinese censorship

Book reports, movies and even banned ideas in China – often inaccurate. The ban is often depicted as ideological and organized, but the censorship mechanism is chaotic. Although it is a routine process, it is also random and full of holes. So, how does Chinese censorship already work?

There are some topics-such as high-ranking officials and their families, or the status of Taiwan, or the legitimacy of the rule of the Communist Party of China (CCP)-which has long been outside the scope of Chinese media. Most authors or journalists who live on the mainland of China participate in self -censorship and directly avoid these topics.

Even exercising caution, we can clean against red lines. While I was living in China, multiple sources told me about the 2009 incident where the employees are in Global times They were punished for a piece that described a paper factory as the largest in China and the second largest factory in the world. This was controversial, because at that time, it was the largest paper factory in the world in Taiwan; The line unintentionally suggested that Taiwan was not part of China.

Sometimes, the red lines turn – usually worse. In Xinjiang, for example, between fatal riots in 2009 and the terrorist attack in 2014, it was still possible to spread the pieces even in the government media that mentioned the bias against the majority in China. But by 2017, as soon as the Chinese repression involves Ouigor’s entire life, Xinjiang mentions more than scrutiny.

However, most sensitive topics – such as the cultural revolution, corruption, or social inequality – succeed in a gray area where the coverage is fraught with risks but is still possible, as long as it carefully flows around CCP sensitivities.

Often, creators avoid covering these topics – even if it is likely to be conducting them through the control process – because removing something is frustrated and sometimes financially destroyed. As my friend Mu, a TV writer, described me, “You can spend weeks working on something, then die, so the next time you write another boring series aimed at mothers at home instead.”

Sometimes, research reveals that the topic is very painful so that it cannot be touched. For example, around 2009, I spoke with an author later escaping from China in 2021. He just finished the most famous research in child abuse in Chinese institutions, such as the role of orphans, and when I asked him about it, he sighed deeply.

He said: “It is very bad, so I can’t write about it. If it is a little bad, I can write about it, but it is very bad that it can never be published.”

Once there is a draft of the piece, it is then subject to internal control by the editors and publishers.

Newspapers and publishing homes do not formally use “censorship”. But since publishers bear a lot of risks imposed on exaggeration, they often have employees whose mission is to verify sensitive stories in particular. These are usually more than the elderly who are considered political intelligence or worked in institutions with a higher official situation – such as Xinhua, the National Press Agency.

In China, making a friendly -friendly change of a piece of most often a cooperative process between the author and the editor while working on what they can say without facing a problem. Some well -known editors are searching for these skills. For foreign authors, this stage can vary from the process; Discounts can be relatively painless or completely drop projects.

But the double role of editors as supervision creates greater problems. Chinese books are more badly released than they were in the West, not because of a lack of power, but because the main anxiety of the editor is whether writing will cause problems, not whether it is a good art. It is not uncommon for the author’s first draft to be the final, except for the changes made for political reasons.

Chinese publishers and directors often get the so -called web novels, a group of books published on the Internet. Unlike the basic checks of pornographic or political content, these accounts receive very preliminary censorship and often include topics that are not permitted in the formulas formally published – that cannot be magic and nature. It often requires ingenuity to bypass the official control process.

Take the very common web novel Ghosts blows lightAnd Indiana Jones-Story of a pattern full of magic elements. When it was officially published, ghosts became illusions created by Feng Shui. It is a common use of use, as it disguises out blatantly as an element in “traditional Chinese medicine” or KigongAnd both have official approval.

After all this, the final product is presented to the state for the official view. This is the last step before a movie is shown in cinemas, a TV show, or a book to receive a publishing number that allows it to be sold.

Depending on the importance of work, it can be examined by publishing authorities or films in the central state (which has been both since 2018 under the control of the Central Advertising Department), or the branches of provinces in the same bodies, or both. Sometimes, advertising bodies demand to see manuscripts even early in this process, but the last step is usually.

This is one of the most inconsistent stages of the process. Controversial materials can be waved because censorship did not pay close attention to that day, or things that are not expected to cause problems in bad faith can be read. Publisher or studio relations with officials can help officials, as well as rare intervention of powerful officials to protect a specific artist.

It is relatively uncommon for the authorities to refuse to allow something to allow something; It is common for them to request changes. This is the most harmful part of this process, because there is rarely time to rewrite or re -write, so instead, parts of the work are reduced without looking at the plot holes or objective losses.

For example, when I watched the movie 2010 Defeat ((The Great Tangishan earthquake In the Chinese language), there was no clear reason for anger by the adoption mother towards her husband and child. When I went to the source of the source, I described the emotional behavior of the incest of the father as adopted towards his daughter – which is likely to be removed from the original pieces of the film at the last minute.

This is also when the intended elements play, like a sudden decision by an official that a specific foreign author is unacceptable because they commented on Chinese policy, or at the last minute refused to agree to a movie because it was shown abroad first or because of the next party conference that makes everyone more programmed. (Both were reported as reasons for the release of the Feng Xiaogang movie youths In 2017.)

Then there is censorship after publishing. This can happen when a book or film explodes in popularity, as it unexpectedly reaches an audience that makes salads uncomfortable. Book 2004 An investigation from Chinese peasants (Posted in Bassem Will the boat drown water? In English), the rural corruption exhibition was banned, after it became a great success.

This is not always effective in preventing the masses from accessing materials. In this case, the illegal publications of the book sold several million copies, and were subsequently supported in public places by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at the time. (Win’s approval did not get an official edition, although it prevented the authors from punishment.)

This is the most dangerous of the forms of control over authors and publishers, because it can often lead to enormous fines, forcing them to get out of work, or even prison terms. When the semi-comfortable work that is not subject to control before publishing-such as theater or standing comedy-raises the controversy, it is especially dangerous. In 2023, a non -harmful comedy joke from the Chinese army led to a broader campaign on the comedians.

All this exists in a broader political context for the stages of opening or tightening political sensitivities. This was a somewhat periodic process, but since Chinese President Xi Jinping took office, he became a continuous march towards more censorship. In better times, publishers are ready to bear the risks, but those times are far away.

It should make us live in the United States grateful to live in a free society – now.