Safeguarding Interests: Chinese Media Censorship during Natural Disasters
The Chinese government has once again conveyed a clear indication to the world of its ability to administer the local media in its favour during natural and human disasters. Even the government can mould the media reports for its own interest, as happened during and after the Sichuan earthquake. The Chinese media has shown contrasting behaviour with respect to two disasters- the SARS epidemic (2003) and the Sichuan earthquake (2008). In the case of SARS, the Chinese government tried to suppress the information leakage, believing that such news could tarnish China's image and lead to internal instability. However, when the earthquake occurred, the media was quite open and forthcoming with information.
The earthquake that hit the Sichuan province of China on May 12, 2008, measured 7.9 on the Richter scale. This was the strongest in the last 30 years. It left almost 100,000 people dead and an equally high number injured and homeless. This tremor was felt in Vietnam and Thailand. On a closer look at the impact of an earthquake and its aftermath, a couple of developments should be discussed at length. One is the role played by the media, considering the level of damage done by the earthquake and the government's reaction.
Sichuan has faced massive damage to both human life and infrastructure. Approximately 80 per cent of the buildings in Beichuan County were flattened, and about one per cent of the population out of 15 million was killed by the earthquake.
The most surprising development in the post-earthquake situation is that the Chinese media has had a free run and has been allowed to report on the tragedy. The Communist Party, infamous for covering up news of disasters, has not proved to be an impediment. The same government tried to silence and censor the media on SARS completely and only allowed information on how the authorities had controlled the situation. Instead, the media's freedom to report on the current tragedy has dramatically impressed outside viewers. This is also in contrast to the most severe Tangshan earthquake of 1976 when the Chinese media only mentioned it and kept silent. After three years of the quake, the death toll was reported at 240,000, but not officially confirmed. The government’s propaganda department has been constantly on vigil and has censored the media operation. 5.
Even though the most highlighted reporting is the army’s dedication to the rescue operation and the government’s promptness in providing aid, there have also been reports covering the exact level of damage and security concerns. For instance, Premier Wen Jiabao's four-day visit to the area was given maximum coverage. However, the more severe debates dealing with bad infrastructure construction have not received their importance. This shows that the government has successfully used the media for propaganda without making it appear as a propaganda stunt. This can also be because the government faced major international criticism after curbing the reporting on the Tibetan Uprising. Whilst no foreign journalists and news agencies were allowed to cover the Tibetan Uprising, in the case of the earthquake, no foreign journalist faced any problems.
The internet has also played a crucial role in reporting and following up on the earthquake. Many postings on the websites show pictures of discontent people showing their anger toward government officials. This is more prominent because China is a country where information is often scarce and censored. Should the government's openness to access to information be regarded as a shift in the official policy? Is it becoming increasingly difficult for the government to control what people should know and should not completely?
The media has also given due coverage to the destruction done to the dams, the creation of artificial lakes, and how the government has successfully addressed this situation. The Ministry of Water Resources has claimed that almost 69 dams are on the verge of collapse, and a huge number have major cracks. Chinese authorities say nearly 400 dams (most of them small barriers) have been damaged.
The backdrop of these developments is that the Chinese government has successfully handled the media. The level of internal discontentment is pretty high, as the people are quite dissatisfied with the local party officials and their lack of care towards the construction of the buildings. It has been highlighted that the quality of the construction was quite poor, and thus, the level of damage has been so high. The media has also handled the situation pretty well.
Is it that the natural disaster of May 2008 has provided a breathing space for the media? The media has reported what the people wanted to know about and thus managed to keep the government on its toes. The freedom exercised by the media has forced the party officials to accept their mistakes publicly. In an authoritarian country, such a scenario is not a common occurrence. This can be interpreted in the way that the Chinese government is fully exploiting the current developments and the media to turn the odds in its favour after the Tibetan Uprising and the drastic way in which the freedom of media was thoroughly controlled. This action was criticized worldwide.
Another aspect of such a stand could be that the government has learned its lesson from the SARS epidemic. While the primary thrust was to control the leakage of news in the current situation, it has been to manage the information. The reason could be that they had to suppress information, which would have led to internal instability and international quarantine. In the current situation, trying to curb the information could have built an undercurrent of unrest among the people as the memory of the Tibetan uprising. Thus, it can be concluded that the Chinese government managed and manipulated the media in both cases of natural disasters to safeguard its interests.