China to curb media coverage of 'sudden events'

Chinese media outlets will be fined if they report on "sudden events" without prior authorisation from government officials, according to a proposed law being considered by the Communist Party-controlled legislature. It would enable the government to restrict coverage of mass outbreaks of disease, riots, strikes, accidents and other events that the authorities prefer to keep secret. Journalists already receive a stream of bulletins from the Propaganda Department forbidding reporting on an ever-expanding list of taboo topics. Yu Guoming, a professor of journalism at the People's University in Beijing said the law "could give too much power to local officials" to determine on breaches. (Via International Herald Tribune)