CHINA, JOURNALISM AND THE STATE SERIES: Zhao Yan, a Story of Power Struggles, Leaks and Hunger Strikes

[See Series Introduction -- the Editors]

By Linda Lynn

In September 2004, Zhao Yan, a local journalist working for the Beijing bureau of The New York Times, was arrested on charges of leaking state secrets. So far the authorities have not given the exact reason for Zhao's arrest. It is said that State Security officials accuse him of being the source for an article by Joseph Kahn in The New York Times reporting Jiang Zemin would resign from his last position of power as head of the military two weeks before the official announcement was made.

Though the newspaper declared that Zhao had nothing to do with the article, he was still detained. What crime did Zhao Yan actually commit? As an ordinary journalist, such "state secrets" are beyond his means. I believe there are two possible explanations to this case:

First, Zhao is a victim of the political power struggle that Mr. Kahn reported on in his article. Background information indicated that ex-president Jiang did not genuinely intend to hand over his power but did so out of heavy pressure from various circles, especially President Hu's allies. The article reported that before deciding to resign, Jiang was still struggling and bargaining to maintain his power.

Therefore, we cannot exclude the possibility that the anonymous sources of the article revealing Jiang's intended resignation at such a crucial moment came from officials with vested interests in the outcome. The publication of such an article in The New York Times would no doubt put great pressure on Jiang.

So Zhao's arrest might just be revenge for the scoop The Times let out. Though Zhao was arrested and Jiang resigned, Jiang's allies held onto important positions in the party--of course, not as important as they could have expected if he had remained in power. While the senior officials who actually revealed the "state secrets" protected themselves with their power, a Chinese journalist became the scapegoat, the only real victim of a power struggle and the leaking that exposed it.

The function of western media and Chinese media are quite different. In western countries, the press is the fourth estate, functioning as an independent power that monitors the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government. In China, however, the media has been described as the "throat and tongue" of the government and the Communist Party since its very birth, suggesting that media is just a tool to serve the party's interest.

Working for a foreign news agency, Zhao Yan was practicing western journalistic principles while restricted by Chinese journalistic disciplines. When The New York Times infuriated the government with the scoop, America's First Amendment and the Shield Law protected Joseph Kahn, but not Zhao Yan. The conflicting nature and interests of the media and the lack of laws to protect Chinese journalists may answer the question why Zhao was chosen as the scapegoat rather than someone else.

Second, it is said that the charge of leaking state secrets was only an excuse. That the real reason for arresting Zhao Yan was that he was about to go on a public hunger strike to protest the police imprisoning a farm leader. In recent years, Zhao Yan had gotten indemnity amounting to some 500 hundred million Yuan for the farmers, and saved 300 people wrongly caught up by the judicial organs. This activity offended many provincial governors and officials.

The hunger strike he was planning was deemed damaging to social stability and security. The publication of such a debatable article gave his enemies a great opportunity to put a troublemaker out of the way.

Since the press's first loyalty is not to citizens but to political parties, the freedom, objectivity, and trustworthiness of the press can hardly be ensured. China's most influential media are all state-run, they cannot be independent from political forces. As long as this kind of press monopoly is maintained, talking about freedom of the press is in vain.

It is true that with the popularization of the Internet, more and more Chinese people are exposed to foreign media. But how many of them are able to read The New York Times without difficulties? Also, if the best access to China's hottest domestic issues is foreign media, what do we need our own media for? The media of China needs to be neither a transmitter for the government or a political party, nor a translating organization for AP or Reuters.

What we need is our own voice--an objective and impartial voice free from political restriction. To realize this, the diversity of media and media's independence from government are essential. The Chinese government is always accusing the foreign media of being biased on Chinese issues, but before accusing others, we really need to improve ourselves.

The news censorship system obstructs the development of Chinese media. Though the government has no law restricting freedom of the press, there are unwritten rules preventing journalists from going beyond the "limits" on free speech. The articles or essays that officials deem damaging will not be published, and people who violate the unwritten rules will be punished.

It is understandable that to rule a vast land with one fifth of the world's population, achieving unity of thought is an effective means. However, it can only fulfill temporary interests while undermining the nation's interest in the long run. If the leaders want to consolidate their power by suppressing freedom of the press, the results might end up being the other way around. China is progressing at a fantastic speed economically, but unbalanced development can hardly last forever. If the openness of speech and reporting cannot be ensured, the economic development will be restricted sooner or later.

In the interim, as cultural conflicts are inevitable, it is necessary for foreign news agencies to take effective measures to protect their local employees. Meanwhile, the news people themselves should be aware of the unavoidable conflicts in their work and know how to protect themselves. For example, in China, it is a national characteristic to express ideas in the implicit and indirect way, especially when criticizing others. When dealing with sensitive issues, we should avoid radical words, therefore the art of speaking and writing are important.

More importantly, China should make laws and rules to guarantee journalists' rights and interests as soon as possible. Only when the press's operating system is improved can freedom of the press be ensured.

China's current press operating system has run for decades, and because of the political system, it may keep running for years to come. But no matter how difficult it is to change the situation, as the Chinese journalists of tomorrow, we should have the courage to challenge the flaws of the system.

Only in this way can the things we learn from textbooks be more than dead theories. Only in this way can we promise journalism in China a bright future. And only in this way can China keep developing in a balanced and healthy way.

This is what we young journalists are pursuing and will not stop until it is realized. If we are sincere in our duty to benefit the general public, we should not be afraid of the possible difficulties and dangers ahead.

I really hope that one day our efforts can be paid back, and Zhao Yan's tragedy will never reoccur. Good luck to Zhao Yan, I sincerely hope his case can be redressed soon.