Protesters at newspaper office in Guangzhou. (AFP/Getty)
The Chinese government insisted Tuesday that Communist Party control over the media is “unshakable,” according to an “urgent memo” sent from the Propaganda Department to the media. “The party has absolute control over the media,” the memo read. The move comes after anti-censorship protests were held outside the offices of Southern Weekly in Guangzhou earlier this week. On Tuesday, so-called new leftists—government supporters carrying pictures of Mao Zedong—clashed with the anti-censorship protesters, causing police to get involved. The memo ordered all media and websites to “prominently republish” an editorial that reinforces the government’s hardline censorship policies, and it blamed “activists”—including Chen Guangcheng—for causing the protests.
