When people think about the U.S. they think about pizza, popcorn, and Hollywood movies. When people think about China they think about tea, silk, and Peking Opera. U.S. and China are two leading nations of the world. It is interesting to take a look at the differences and subtle similarities in their treatment of media.
The article, “French journalist Ursula Gauthier kicked out of China for slamming Beijing's Uyghur policy," is about China’s treatment of a dissident foreign journalist for criticizing the government. This article emphasizes the differences between a state owned press and independent press, touches upon the legal consequences of government criticism, and considers censorship in the media.
This article can be found online at:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/26/asia/china-journalist-expelled-gauthier-uyghur/
In this article, it mentions how the Chinese government is expelling a reporter named Ursula Gauthier for an article she wrote and published in November. In the criticizing article that Gauthier wrote, she accused the Chinese government of unfairly targeting the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang as terrorists. One Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that Gauthier’s actions were inflammatory as she was advocating for “acts of terrorism and killings of innocent civilians [as well as causing] public outrage among the Chinese people.” Because Gauthier refused to issue an apology statement for writing her article, the Chinese government will not be renewing her visa. In doing so, Gauthier will have no choice but to leave China, despite her status as a “Beijing-based correspondent for French magazine L'OBS since 2009.”
China has an authoritarian control system and the media is designed to support ideological goals or be controlled so tightly that it does not challenge the government. The government in China censors the internal and external flow of news in order to prevent the political instability that may come from unrestrained media. In China, the hope is that the media will spread communist ideology or carry social value in helping engender support for the government.
On the other hand, the democratic system media is designed to serve the public, rather than the government. Nevertheless, the United States does place certain limitations on the freedom of the press. For example, the U.S. media are forbidden from revealing the names of CIA secret agents because that would endanger their lives and interfere with their work. The U.S. government also censorships the publication of classified information that would be potentially harmful to the government. In addition, while American journalists can write scathing opinions about the U.S. officials without fear, news reporters can not issue defamatory statements such as slander or libel.
Censorship in the press depends on the degree of restraint exercised by governments in authoritarian societies such as China or democratic societies in America. It is important to be cautious in observing media as it is possible the news that people watch is missing information due to censorship.
Ironically, having rules which govern the media is important because it makes the institution of media reporting more fair and trustworthy. In a way, censorship is necessary for the media both in China and in the United States because it prevents reporters from publishing just about anything that they want. In my opinion, I believe that the French reporter, Ursula Gauthier should not have published an article challenging the authority of the Chinese government. She could have tried to find a more appropriate platform for releasing her news article without creating a conflict.
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