Do media in China enjoy more autonomy today - Essay Example

ile in many democracies, in the west, and the press is free to criticize the government without fears of reprisals, this is still a dream to the Chinese media. The CDP (Communist Partys Central Propaganda Department) is the main body charged with the censoring of all information be it on TV print or even the internet. In retrospect, the Chinese press may have enjoyed a degree of freedom in the past, today the communist government is tightening the leash against the media in an attempt to control the information that filers to the public.

This is according to observers from both inside and outside China; interviewed by Deutsche Welle Wolfgang Büttner said that freedom of the press has taken a turn for the worse in the recent past (Blau, 2012). Herein, some of the problems that are experienced by the Chinese media (inclusive of online media) are examined with the conclusion entailing a projection of whether the situation is likely to change in the near future. One of the main courses of these increased clampdowns could be the revolutions in Egypt and Syria which were instigated from a social medial platform.

The Chinese government fears that its citizens may attempt the same after an online appeal to the Chinese to follow suit (Bennett, 2011). The Chinese constitution requires that any online company should be ready to co-operate with the state in apprehending those who leak state secrets, however, the definition of state secrete is rather vague. Conveniently, this could be any information the government deems a threat to its economy or reputation, whether true or not. In 2010, the government launched its first white paper that requires for everyone using the internet in China, including foreign correspondents should adhere to the laws of China in what is commonly known as media sovereignty (Bennett, 2011).

In view of the harsh economic times and the corruption that seems to be etching itself in government circles, the party is aware that the Chinese people might