On October 20, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) published an updated list of approved news sources. The list contains Internet news providers from which other sites can reprint contents.
Compared to the 2016 list, the updated list of 1,358 news sources includes more public and social media accounts based on how they followed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) directions in the past. According to the CAC, the update also eliminated media from the previous 2016 list because those media “no longer meet the requirements, have a poor daily performance, and lack influence.”
Caixin, one of China’s best-known outspoken business publications, was eliminated from the 2021 list.
Despite increasingly tight control under China’s Xi Jinping, the privately funded Caixin has published many articles that the CCP does not like and has become influential as a result. That influence is a challenge for the CCP.
People currently subscribe to Caixin reports because Caixin has a strong team of investigative reporters known for their exclusive reports. The extent to which the removal from the 2021 news source list may impact Caixin’s business remains to be seen.
CCP controlled media must publish in accordance with CCP’s agenda. Everyone is a reporter or photographer in the Internet age, a reality that the CCP cannot change. It is questionable whether the CCP’s updated approval of the media list will effectively shut down different voices.
Source: Cyberspace Administration of China, October 20, 2021
http://www.cac.gov.cn/2021-10/20/c_1636326280912456.htm?showOutlinkMenu=1&hgWebShareTitle=