A group of Chinese lawyers and rights advocates have issued a letter demanding the government scrap a proposed law that threatens to further restrict press freedom. The law, which China plans to adopt this year, forbids reporters from reporting about disease epidemics, disasters, protests and other "emergencies" before the government releases information.
It would also fine them for inaccurate reporting on these major incidents — moves that are alarming Chinese journalists and raising fears it could tighten the muzzle on an increasingly bold press.
A group of 30 lawyers and others, including some who are members of the banned China Democracy Party, said in an open letter posted on overseas Chinese dissident websites that the law would violate the nation's constitution.
They said it could lead to a regression in the progress Chinese media has made in recent years in reporting on mine accidents and other events that various levels of government have tried to play down or cover up.
One example they cited was the cover-up of a major HIV/AIDS epidemic involving farmers infected from unsafe government-sponsored blood collections, which was revealed only after media reporting.
"The habit of the Chinese Communist government is to report good news, not bad news and to hide the truth, especially on some large incidents," the group said in the letter.
"What happened in the past happened when China still didn't have a clear law limiting media reporting on emergency incidents. If there is such legal restriction, the media would have even less room to work."
The government on Monday said that the law was aimed at avoiding false reporting that leads to public panic.
It will impose fines of between 50,000 yuan (6,250 US dollars) and 100,000 yuan on journalists whose inaccurate reporting about emergency incidents leads to "serious consequences," the government said at a news briefing Monday.
A government official at the briefing told reporters it would also apply to foreign journalists.
The legislation comes as Chinese authorities become more concerned about social unrest, particularly due to growing confrontations between farmers and others with local governments over land disputes and corruption.
The past few years have seen increasingly aggressive reporting by Chinese media, which are pushing state-imposed controls partly due to an increasing need to compete for readership and advertising revenue.
