Whether it is due the coming of the Olympics, globalization , the steady beat of democratization or emerging local, non-state enterprises, good things are happening to the media in China, one of that country’s leading press reformers told the media conference.
Li Datong, Senior Editor at China Youth Daily and a longtime advocate of a more open and independent press in China, painted a positive picture of the media climate in China today for the conference.
State control and interference remains a serious factor, he said, but top-down authority is no match for the myriad forces of openness.”Even with (continued) strict control by China’s government, the development of democracy in Chinese media is irreversible,” Li said.
“The national propaganda system (of state control) has been destroyed,” he contended. Some of those at the conference thought Li was being a bit too sunny. But he has the credentials to look on the rosy side if he wishes.
In 1989, Li was stripped of his position on China Youth Daily after he led a group of more than 1000 reporters to meet with central leadership about press reform. After five years out in the cold, Li returned and soon launched Bing Dian (Freezing Point) weekly, which probed deeply into controversial contemporary topics.
In 2006, Freezing Point was shut down and Mr. Li lost his chief editor post.
But from his current senior editor position, he remains upbeat about the long-term future of media freedom in China.
Part of it stems from the growth of lively, profitable local, or “city” newspapers and magazines who are usurping the state controlled media in the minds of the public and even among many media leaders, he said. The Internet, which cannot be totally surpressed, is another factor.
The media also benefits from an overall move toward greater democratization and civil freedoms in China, as well as the coming Olympics, which will temporarily - at least - usher in a new era of press freedom.
State control won’t go away quickly or easily, Li said. But it is eroding. And interestingly, the opening up is happening more quickly at the central government level than at local levels, where party bosses still can maintain iron control.
Whether you are inside China or outside, is Li’s prognosis the correct one?