Chinese censors are apparently blocking online discussion and sanitising news reports about the unrest in Egypt, in a sign of official unease that the uprising could fuel calls for reform at home. Keyword searches on the protests returned no results Monday on microblogs and the reader comment function on news reports about Egypt was disabled on major portals as China's pervasive censorship apparatus swung into full gear.
News coverage of the demonstrations against the 30-year rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was limited to sparse accounts that largely glossed over the underlying political factors and calls for democracy. The coverage tended to emphasise the lawlessness in Cairo and the need to restore order - a message hammered home by the foreign ministry. Major Chinese newspapers on Monday ran no photos from Egypt, while the main midday news omitted footage of street protests, instead showing Mubarak meeting top officials.
"I would imagine the government put out some sort of order for all outlets to use only copy from (state-run news agency) Xinhua. That's the standard procedure," said Jeremy Goldkorn, editor of the Beijing-based China media website danwei.org, which also is blocked by censors.
"That way they can sterilise the depiction of the situation or portray it as something negative or a product of Western influence." China maintains a tight grip on its online and traditional media, actively blocking content seen as a potential challenge to the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party.