CHINA, JOURNALISM AND THE STATE SERIES: The Law is The Law

[See Series Introduction -- the Editors]

By Joyce Zhang

When I first learned the news that Mr. Zhao Yan, a researcher for the Beijing bureau of The New York Times, had been detained by the authorities for leaking state secrets since September and not allowed to communicate with his family or lawyers, I was shocked. In the past 20 years, rarely have I ever been exposed to this kind of news; this kind of news is usually banned in China.

What secret did Mr. Zhao leak? This is the most important question we should ask before making any judgments on the issue. Most of the news from abroad says that the Chinese government detained Mr. Zhao because they believed he was behind the September scoop by The Times' Beijing bureau chief, Joseph Kahn, that China's former leader, Jiang Zemin, was about to retire from his last formal position.

Isn’t it too weak an accusation for the Chinese authorities to bother detaining a journalist over at the risk of being criticized by foreign media? That was my thought. But, after reading the original article “China Ex-President May Be Set to Yield Last Powerful Post,” I changed my mind. It was not just the simple fact that Mr. Jiang Zemin planned to retire from his military position that was leaked, but a lot of secret information about different opinions among the authorities as well. All of it involves really sensitive topics that are banned and have to be banned in China.

As we know, there are many factors that may influence news reporting: economic gain, political bias, personal whims, etc. This determines that there may be some unintentional or intentional distortions in news reporting. Take the comments that foreign journalists made after Mr. Zhao was arrested for example, the secret was condensed into a simple assumption that Mr. Jiang might retire, which is not complete in its context, and might mislead readers to form an opinion that the Chinese Government is too sensitive and fussy.

Actually, that is not the case. I’m not saying that foreign media mean to insult the Chinese government by distorting the facts; but due to different cultural backgrounds, we share utterly opposite understandings of certain issues. As a matter of fact, the condensed truth from the foreign media would have formed an improper idea about the issue among Chinese citizens.

Undoubtedly, Public opinion is vital to a government. Therefore, it is reasonable that no government should ever risk indulging the media with reporting whatever however they want; neither should the Chinese Government. Let alone allow the release of sensitive information to the foreign media. China is a huge society consisting of 13 hundred million people, and difficult to govern. Any scandal may result in chaos.

The public is sometimes restrained by the environment--a specific knowledge level, social class, or current economic situation. In most cases, people are exposed to only a part of the truth, which might be caused by their own choice, friend’s influence, certain media, as well as restrictions from the government. Not seeing the whole picture, they are easily blinded and provoked into extreme reactions. In order to prevent this terrible result, the Chinese government chooses to cut the root by not releasing the information in the first place.

As for Zhao Yan, I’m not sure whether he really leaked a state secret to The New York Times. Although The Times claimed that Mr. Zhao was not their source, that might be a method that The Times uses to protect its sources. If he did so, I would say that he deserved being sentenced. As a citizen, we have responsibilities as well as rights. There’s no excuse for anyone breaking the law. That’s the only way our society is guaranteed to work properly.

The journalism ethics we’ve learned say that we should not report at the risk of breaking laws or moral codes. It is true that every legal citizen has the right to speak, but with a precondition that he does not break the law. If anybody breaks it, he is to be punished. As an experienced journalist, I believe that Mr. Zhao should know the principles and he should obey them.

If Mr. Zhao was not the one who released the state secret, the Chinese government is to blame. If Mr. Zhao didn’t leak state secrets, there’s only one possibility left: he was arrested for exposing the corruption cases as most foreign reporters have suspected. In that case, the Chinese government will be accused again of trying to hush up the scandals and taking revenge on Zhao Yan for his reporting. I would be ashamed of such a government if that is the real reason for Mr. Zhao’s detention.

Concerning this case, I urge a relatively perfect law governing journalism being established as soon as possible. Clear principles about what can be reported and what should be banned should be listed in it. The ban on releasing the news of SARS in China two years ago was a complete failure. Though the intention was to prevent chaos, the Chinese government underrated the Chinese public, which led to a disaster.

Restrictions are not always the best way to solve a problem; the Chinese government should have more confidence in Chinese people, and let them know what they are obliged to know.