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| NYT's little problem in big China | NYT's little problem in big China |
| (5 months later) | |
| China is the world's biggest market but for western media firms trying to expand it can be a bruising experience, with even the biggest names such as Rupert Murdoch and Google having come a cropper. | China is the world's biggest market but for western media firms trying to expand it can be a bruising experience, with even the biggest names such as Rupert Murdoch and Google having come a cropper. |
| So it was perhaps inevitable when the New York Times (NYT) decided to launch a Chinese language website in June that it would at some point fall foul of the censors. But it did so in spectacular fashion on Friday when the government blocked access to the site, accusing it of trying to "smear" the country's name. Its crime was to publish an article claiming that the family of the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, had accumulated massive wealth – a handsome $2.7bn (£1.67bn) – during his time in power. | So it was perhaps inevitable when the New York Times (NYT) decided to launch a Chinese language website in June that it would at some point fall foul of the censors. But it did so in spectacular fashion on Friday when the government blocked access to the site, accusing it of trying to "smear" the country's name. Its crime was to publish an article claiming that the family of the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, had accumulated massive wealth – a handsome $2.7bn (£1.67bn) – during his time in power. |
| China swiftly blocked access to the paper's websites and censored searches for the NYT as well as the names of Wen's children and wife on China's main Twitter-like microblogging service, Weibo. | China swiftly blocked access to the paper's websites and censored searches for the NYT as well as the names of Wen's children and wife on China's main Twitter-like microblogging service, Weibo. |
| A foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said the paper "smears China's name and has ulterior motives". | A foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said the paper "smears China's name and has ulterior motives". |
| The media group responded by saying it would "ask the Chinese authorities to ensure that our readers in China can continue to enjoy New York Times journalism". | The media group responded by saying it would "ask the Chinese authorities to ensure that our readers in China can continue to enjoy New York Times journalism". |
| The NYT hired 30 staff for its Chinese website, most of whom are working as translators and editors, and publishes about 30 articles a day on national, foreign and arts topics, in addition to editorials. Two thirds of the content is translated from the paper and a third is written by Chinese editors and local freelance journalists. | The NYT hired 30 staff for its Chinese website, most of whom are working as translators and editors, and publishes about 30 articles a day on national, foreign and arts topics, in addition to editorials. Two thirds of the content is translated from the paper and a third is written by Chinese editors and local freelance journalists. |
| The US paper was unlikely to follow Google's initial approach when it launched in 2006 and censor its content but diplomacy would be needed to re-establish its service, said William Dutton, professor of internet studies at the Oxford Internet Institute. | The US paper was unlikely to follow Google's initial approach when it launched in 2006 and censor its content but diplomacy would be needed to re-establish its service, said William Dutton, professor of internet studies at the Oxford Internet Institute. |
| "It will be impossible for China to stop people seeing this story even by censoring the site because there will be so much re-posting of the story from elsewhere. So I don't think censorship can be totally effective. This particular article will be more circulated and better known because of the censorship of the New York Times," said Dutton. | "It will be impossible for China to stop people seeing this story even by censoring the site because there will be so much re-posting of the story from elsewhere. So I don't think censorship can be totally effective. This particular article will be more circulated and better known because of the censorship of the New York Times," said Dutton. |
| He said the Chinese had become more effective at filtering stories but adopted a two-faced approach to criticism. "It is OK for someone to protest in China, but not in Tiananmen Square; it is OK to criticise China, but not OK to criticise the prime minister. This is a symbolic reaction, more of a political stance. | He said the Chinese had become more effective at filtering stories but adopted a two-faced approach to criticism. "It is OK for someone to protest in China, but not in Tiananmen Square; it is OK to criticise China, but not OK to criticise the prime minister. This is a symbolic reaction, more of a political stance. |
| "Strategically, how do the New York Times deal with it? Every publication has to figure out how they accommodate the law of the country they are in and if nobody loses their temper and takes time to figure out how and why this happened, then maybe they can figure out a way to climb down without losing face," said Dutton. | "Strategically, how do the New York Times deal with it? Every publication has to figure out how they accommodate the law of the country they are in and if nobody loses their temper and takes time to figure out how and why this happened, then maybe they can figure out a way to climb down without losing face," said Dutton. |
| Google found itself in a similar situation when it launched in China in 2006 with censored search results. In the face of a barrage of criticism over censorship in 2010, it defied the authorities' warnings and started to redirect mainland Chinese users to its unrestricted Hong Kong website. | Google found itself in a similar situation when it launched in China in 2006 with censored search results. In the face of a barrage of criticism over censorship in 2010, it defied the authorities' warnings and started to redirect mainland Chinese users to its unrestricted Hong Kong website. |
| Rupert Murdoch also gave up his dream of piping Chinese TV to every home in the country. Over a period of almost 20 years, he travelled regularly to China and assiduously courted its leaders, in the hope of creating a truly global satellite network. But last August, News Corporation announced it was selling its controlling stakes in three of its Chinese television channels to a domestic private equity fund based in Beijing and Shanghai. | Rupert Murdoch also gave up his dream of piping Chinese TV to every home in the country. Over a period of almost 20 years, he travelled regularly to China and assiduously courted its leaders, in the hope of creating a truly global satellite network. But last August, News Corporation announced it was selling its controlling stakes in three of its Chinese television channels to a domestic private equity fund based in Beijing and Shanghai. |
| The Financial Times and Murdoch's Wall Street Journal also run Chinese-language services, with the FT boasting 1.7 million users, and the New York Times will still be hoping to provide them with vigorous competition. | The Financial Times and Murdoch's Wall Street Journal also run Chinese-language services, with the FT boasting 1.7 million users, and the New York Times will still be hoping to provide them with vigorous competition. |
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