Jousting with China's Monsters

Abstract

A report on changes to the policies and environment facing China's investigative reporters since 2005. China has suffered a succession of crises over the last two years stemming from official corruption and negligence. All have dialed up the heat on simmering resentment of the government, and more than a few have erupted into full-blown public protests. Curbs on hard news, and on investigative reporting in particular, have effectively neutralized the only form of power monitoring in China that has proven both effective and credible. The network of agencies devoted to media control in China, including the propaganda department, are now, more than ever before, mediators and players in a vast web of power and profit. They no longer dish out just propaganda dictates; they dish out personal and professional favors too. It is too early to sound the horns and declare the battle lost. Chinese journalists have proven again and again, after all, that they can beat the odds and pull off surprising victories.