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Briefings - 1197. page

Olympic Reporting Guideline: Emphasize Positive and Minimize Negative News

Recently the media propaganda department issued a list of requirements and guidelines on news reports about the Olympic games and its opening ceremony. The guideline emphasizes the requirement to report positively about the games. It asks media channels to downplay negative news and even forbids them to report news on subjects such as the designated demonstration sites, attacks of policemen in Xinjiang, or the mishandling of Sichuan earthquake funds.

Source: Boxun, August 8, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/08/200808081130.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Killer’s Final Words Blame the CCP for his Action

Tang Yongming, a 47 year old man from Hangzhou City, jumped to his death after attacking two Americans and their Chinese tour guide with a knife on August 8, the opening day of the Olympics. An American man was killed and his wife seriously injured.

In a note he left, Tang Yongming said: “The reason I take this extreme action is not cruelty and craziness, I want the world to pay attention to Chinese people’s pain suffered under the Communist Party.”

Source: Boxun.com, August 10, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/forum/200808/boxun2008b/2419.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

F-14 Fighter Made Its Maiden Flight in July 2008

China started to build a J-14 in 2006 and its maiden flight in July 2008 was a success, according to an Internet posting on a popular Chinese military web site. The posting comments on the features of the fourth-generation fighter: First, it maximizes flight time of combat aircraft during supersonic flights. Second, it uses a large number of stealth materials and technology. Thirdly, its taking off and landing performance is greatly improved.

The posting contains a photo of a J-14 under construction.

Source: http://military.club.china.com/data/thread/1011/2281/99/40/7_1.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Olympics: Xinhua Claims China is Fully Open to Foreign Media

As foreign reporters in Beijing find reporting in China rather restrictive, on August 7 Xinhua published an article entitled “China is open with confidence and treats foreign media kindly according to the law.” The article states that China is more open during the Olympics and everything is conducted according to the law. It further states, “foreign media has been given freedom to fully report about China,” and that some foreign TV broadcasters are even allowed to broadcast live from Tiananmen Square.

Source: Xinhua, August 7, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/olympics/2008-08/07/content_9031773.htm content_8999765.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Olympics: Four Foreign Protesters Expelled

Four human rights activists from U.K. and U.S. were arrested and expelled from China today. On August 6 at 5:47 a.m., three men and one woman managed to hang two banners on light posts. One banner said “Tibet will be Free”; the other said “One World One Dream Free Tibet”. Per Xinhua News, police arrived within 12 minutes and arrested them.

A spoke person of the Beijing Olympics Committee said: “their behavior is unacceptable and illegal.”

The two British citizens have boarded a Frankfurt-bound plane; the two Americans were flying to San Francisco.

Source: BBC, August 7, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7540000/newsid_7544400/7544429.stm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Power Shortages Widespread

As of August 5, of all the 541 power plants in China, 219 have less than 7 days worth of coal inventory. Power shortages have occurred in provinces such as Shangxi, Henan, Hunan and Liaoning where local authorities have implemented planned blackouts. On July 29, the shortage hit 10.22 million Kilowatts in Shandong Province, close to one-third of the power requirement in the province.

The power shortage was attributed to lack of quality coal, which has forced the shutdown of some major power plants.

Industry experts fear that the shortage will spread to more provinces and regions including Jiangsu, Fujian, Hubei and Jiangxi and Chongqing. 70% of the power consumed in Beijing depends on power plants outside the Beijing region. Two of them, Shalingzi and Wangtan Power Plants have their coal inventory hovering at around a 2 day level of reserves.

Source: Xinhua, August 6, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-08/06/content_8999765.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Olympics: Internet Data Centers Ordered to Freeze

All Internet data centers throughout China were ordered to suspend work including network buildup, connection and upgrades starting from August 1, according to Nanfang Daily. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the mandate ordering the freeze to be in effect until after August 25 when the Olympics closes. Websites closed down due to content cannot apply for re-open during the freeze.

Source: Nanfang Daily, July 30, 2008
http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/epaper/nfds/content/20080730/ArticelA32002FM.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Olympics: Beijing Buses Exploded less than Two Days before the Opening

At 11 a.m. on August 6, a Route 205 bus reportedly exploded at the gate of Qinghua University. Three passengers suffered injuries. At 4:30 p.m. on the same day, a Route 10 bus exploded at Naoshikou Street near Changan Street, a famous street in Beijing that runs through Tiananmen Square.

Per photos taken by eye witness citizens, white powder was scatted everywhere. A middle aged woman suffered from a broken leg. Other injuries were not clear.

Source: EpochTimes.com, August 7, 2008
http://news.epochtimes.com/gb/8/8/7/n2220344.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability