China Defends Proposed Law to Fine Media

AP/GILLIAN WONG | July 4 2006

BEIJING (AP) - China defended a proposed law that would fine media reporting on riots and disasters without official approval, saying Monday it wants to encourage responsible journalism - not punish independent reporting.

Wang Yongqing, vice-minister of the State Council Legislative Affairs Office, said the law would likely also apply to foreign news organizations.

Chinese journalists have criticized the proposed law. It comes amid a government campaign to tighten controls on media, which have tested officials' tolerance by reporting on corruption and protests.

News outlets that report emergencies without authorization or issue fraudulent reports would be fined up to $12,500 under the draft law being considered by Parliament.

Wang told a news conference fines would only be imposed if reports caused "grave consequences to society" and claimed the law was not meant to deter independent reporting.

The law is meant "to prevent certain news media from disseminating groundless news or rumors, or reporting false information which may mislead the public and cause unnecessary social panic," he said.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists urged China last week not to pass the law, saying it was the communist government's attempt to restrict reporting by China's increasing market-driven press.

China's media, all state-owned, have been given wider editorial discretion in recent years in hopes of making them commercially competitive and reducing the need for state subsidies.

Some Chinese newspapers have published editorials expressing concern over possible abuses by officials wanting to hide problems.

The official Xinhua News Agency has said the legislation defines emergencies as industrial accidents, natural disasters and health and public security crises.

The proposed law has raised concerns over journalists' right to report on matters of public interest.

"The term 'grave consequences on society' is vague and it is up to the local government to interpret it," said Zhan Jiang, director of the department of mass media at the China Youth University for Political Sciences. "In addition, the draft lets the local government control the source of the information."

Wang said the media rules are a small part of a bill meant to promote accountability and transparency in local government. Under the proposal, local officials could be fired for trying to conceal an emergency.

The law would "force the government to give timely and accurate information" on how a disaster is being handled, Wang said.

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