Originally Posted by cct94

Hi there,

First time visitor, but I'll respond to this question. There's really many different "types" of media in China.

The official media, especially that close to Beijing, is very tightly controlled. CCTV, the People's Daily, and Xinhua are established as a way for the Party to speak to the people... and as such, just about anyone can write an article on their behalf on any issue... the type of artificial news they generate is really quite that predictable. It's probably most accurate to describe articles in the People's Daily and Xinhua as press releases.

Other public media further away from Beijing has significantly more freedom. In Guangdong especially, the Southern Metropolis Daily and related publications have often published somewhat controversial political statements... including those from Taiwanese moderates. Even in the aftermath of Tibet, that newsgroup published a call asking for deeper consideration of *why* there was so much unhappiness in Tibet, and also a call for greater press freedom so that the world would better believe China's point of view. Hunan TV is also seen as a network that pushes the boundary. But even this media is still officially controlled by Beijing censors, so there are lines they won't cross.

And then there are the Chinese-language sources that are independent of government control entirely. Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, for example, is watched by hundreds of millions in China. It's independent of Party control entirely, although it still respects mainland Chinese sensitivities. (It will report in detail on what's going on in Taiwan without any censorship, but it only refers to the Taiwanese president as "leader".)

You were mostly curious about public reaction, though. China is 1.3 billion people, so there's not a "single" reaction. Many people still get their news exclusively from state media, but even then they will often dig through trying to "imagine" the other side of the story.

Many, probably 100 million+, get their news almost exclusively online and from overseas media, and hate the Chinese state media with a passion. For years, the standard online retort has been... "don't be so CCTV" (whenever someone is perceived as being stupid/biased). Overseas media is *widely* available. NY Times and CNN websites are very, very rarely blocked. BBC used to be blocked, but that's come down as well. During the torch run in San Francisco yesterday, thousands (hundreds of thousands?) were watching the online newsfeed from CNN and other American news stations.

So... while it's fair to say that many Chinese might not have a full picture of what's happening, those most likely to be politically active (young college graduates) have almost unimpeded access to western media. And they fully take advantage of it.

Those who continue to think of China as a totalitarian nation where the Chinese people are told what to think will simply not understand China.

By way of personal introduction, I'm a Chinese national, who has lived, studied, and worked in the United States for many years. I too was on the streets of San Francisco yesterday.