China wants to crack down on press freedom and introduce a new training system that requires journalists to train in Marxist and communist theories of news.
Li Dongdong, deputy director of the General Administration of Press and
Publication, told the South China Morning Post that some mainland reporters were giving Chinese journalism a bad name because they were not properly trained.
Under communist theories of journalism, media should support the leadership rather than operate as a watchdog.
The initiative seems to be aimed at mainland journalists only.
Chinese officials already routinely censor journalists, but Chinese media has become less restricted in recent years as they have gained more revenue from independent sources via advertising.
In 2008, Li Changqing was awarded the World Association of Newspapers Golden Pen of Press Freedom award after serving a three-year jail sentence imposed by Chinese authorities for reporting on an outbreak of dengue fever in Fuzhou province in 2004 before authorities had admitted it.
Sources: South China Morning Post (registration required)/ AP
