If you want to see how truly draconian the Chinese government is when it comes to press freedom, I recommend a report by the International Federation of Journalists.
The report lists dozens of government restrictions issued on what journalists can (or more accurately, cannot) report, and shows how Chinese censors attempt to muzzle and control the media at every turn.
In fact, 62 media bans of various sorts were issued by China between January and November 2009, among hundreds of regulations issued by central and provincial authorities.
The restrictions are sometimes comical: One bans the media from reporting on photos of movie star Zhang Ziyi topless on a Caribbean beach.
But mostly they paint a disturbing picture of a Chinese government that is desperate to maintain an iron grip on its journalists and, by extension, its entire population.
Here are just a few of the restrictions:
• Media must not report on issues related to the parents of children killed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Media must only report the list of victims announced by officials. Media must not conduct independent investigative reporting about the number of victims. Media must not publish subjective conclusions about the reasons why buildings collapsed during the earthquake. Media must use official information about the reconstruction of the quake zone. Problems during the reconstruction must be reported to the authorities and must not be published.
• Media must use only Xinhua News Agency information to report on riots in Xinjiang and Shaoguan. No journalist should be sent to Xinjiang.
• Media must be reminded that reporting spontaneous news from other provinces is prohibited.
• Media must not be sent to Shanxi province to cover a gas explosion.
• Media must not report on the sacking of former Communist Party chief and deputy director of the Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration, Lin Jiaxiang, who was sacked for alleged drunken behaviour and child molestation.
• Media must cease reporting on the connection between a high incidence of miscarriages in pregnant women in Dujiangyan City and formaldehyde exposure.
• Media must not report on a lawsuit against China Eastern Airline by victims of a plane crash in 2004 in which 53 passengers were killed.
• Media must use Xinhua News Agency information to report on the death of a factory general manager in Jilin after a protest by factory employees. Media must not be sent to Jilin and all journalists must be instructed to leave the vicinity.
• Media must not report on corruption allegations relating to the eldest son of President Hu Jintao.
• Media including internet-based outlets must not republish a report on a company found guilty of defaming a reporter who reported a miscarriage of justice case in 2005.
• Media must use Xinhua News Agency information about the visit by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to Taiwan.
• Media must delete all images of President Hu in front of a billboard advertising the Japan-based company Toshiba during China's National Day Parade on Oct. 1.
• Media must report positively on the Green Dam project. Media can organize interviews with some experts and parents about filters for pornographic material under this project. No commentary allowed. Website management must delete all critical articles about the project.
• Media must cease reporting on the discovery of a body at a psychiatric hospital in Dongguan.
• Media must not be sent to Shandong or Henan provinces to cover a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
• Media must not report on photos of actress Zhang Ziyi topless on a Caribbean beach.
There are plenty of other examples, such as when the government tried to censor coverage of a high-speed train crash and Chinese journalists rebelled. Or the time the government harassed reporters trying to do stories on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
And the list, sadly, goes on...
