public health crises on chinese front pages – an analysis
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PublichealthcrisesonChinesefrontpages–Ananalysisofmedia
discoursesaboutSARSandthetaintedmilkscandal
GørilFrømyrBorgen
MasterofAsianandAfricanStudies
EastAsianStudies(30credits)
DepartmentofCultureStudiesandOrientalLanguages
UniversityofOslo
December2011
III
PublichealthcrisesonChinesefrontpages
AnanalysisofmediadiscoursesaboutSARSandthetaintedmilkscandal
GørilFørmyrBorgen
IV
©GørilFrømyrBorgen2011Public health crises on Chinese front pages – An analysis of media discourses about SARS and the tainted milk scandalGørilFrømyrBorgenhttp://www.duo.uio.no/Printing:Reprosentralen,UniversitetetiOslo
V
SummaryThis paper seeks to explore the impact the twonational health crises ‐ SARS and the
tainted milk scandal ‐ might have had on the public sphere in China. In both cases,
insufficient information and government cover‐ups hindered effective handling of the
situationsandworsenedtheoutcome.
AgainstthebackdropofrecenthistoryanddevelopmentswithinChinesemedia,I
analysed how the official party‐paper, the Renmin Ribao, and the Guangdong‐based
weeklyNanfang Zhoumo covered the two crises. By doing so, Iwas able to study the
relationshipbetweenofficialandmoreliberaldiscoursesandhowthesedevelopedover
timeinthecontextofcrises.
InmyanalysisIpaidspecialattentiontodifferentgroups’degreeofaccesstothe
debateandtowhichtopicsthatwerediscussed.Whenexaminingtheuseoflanguagein
thediscourses,Iobservedhowtheterms“scientific”and“openness”wereappliedinthe
rhetoricofleadersin2003and2008.Ialsofoundseveralexamplesofhowgovernment
critiquewasraisedbetweenthelinesintheNanfangZhoumo.
Iargueinmypaperthatthecriseshavecontributedtoawideningpublicsphere
intermsof topicsthatareacceptabletodiscusswithinthe limitsofcensorship.At the
sametime,theChineseleadershiphasadoptedamoreproactiveandhumbleapproach
tocrisismanagement,somethingthatmightstrengthentheParty’spositionintermsof
legitimacyaswellasitsabilitytocarryoutunpopularreformsonthelocallevel.
Inordertoacquireabroaderunderstandingofthedynamicsofapublicspherein
anEast‐Asianregionalcontext,Ilookedathownationalmediacoveredasimilarcrisisin
SouthKorea.Ifoundthatcommercialpressureandstrongnationalistsentimentscould
put a critical public debate at risk also in a democratic country where media is not
ownedandcontrolledbythegovernment.
VII
AcknowledgementsIsendmyheartfeltgratitudetotheNorwegianCentreforHumanRightsforgrantingme
with their scholarship formaster students in 2010. Special thanks to everyone at the
ChinaProgramme‐yourinterestinmyresearchhasbeenasignificantmotivationinmy
workwiththethesis,andIhighlyvaluedyourcommentsandsupport.
MysincerethankstomysupervisorandteacherProfessorVladimirTikhonovat
the Department of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages for having guided me
through the fascinating field of East Asian Studies, always ready to give extensive
feedback and advice. My thanks go also to Qi Wang for an inspiring introduction to
Chinesesocietyandpoliticsin2007andforsupervisingonmythesisinspring2011.
MygoodfriendGuroLidtooktheinitiativeandtimetoreadthroughmypaperin
ahecticfinalstage,forwhichIammostgrateful.Finally,mywarmthanksgotoStianfor
valuablecommentsandcorrectionstomypaper,fordailyinspirationandforcomingto
theNationalLibraryofChinainBeijingwithmethatsnowywinterof2009.
The responsibility for the final product is fullymine, but their efforts certainly
madeitabetterone.
IX
ListofcontentsSummary .......................................................................................................................................................... VAcknowledgements.................................................................................................................................... VIIListofcontents ..............................................................................................................................................IXIntroduction–topicandquestions ......................................................................................................... 1Thelimitationsofmypaper............................................................................................................................................ 2
Theory ............................................................................................................................................................... 2Publicsphere ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Methodandmaterial .................................................................................................................................... 5Whohasasay?Aquantitativeandqualitativeinquiry ..................................................................................... 6Discourseanalysis ............................................................................................................................................................... 6Regionalperspective.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Background ..................................................................................................................................................... 8Chinesemediatoday:newpowers,controlandcommercialism.................................................................... 8TherolesoftheChinesejournalist............................................................................................................................... 9TheroleofglobalisationandtheInternet .............................................................................................................11Officialandunofficialideologies–“scientificdevelopment”andnationalism ......................................12Reportingonurgenthealthcrises .............................................................................................................................14TheRenminRibao .............................................................................................................................................................15TheNanfangZhoumo......................................................................................................................................................16
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................................17TheRenminRibaoontheSARSoutbreak...............................................................................................................17Businessasusual,butneedtoupgradethesystem................................................................................18Timelyandaccordingtolaw.............................................................................................................................18WHOasasource.....................................................................................................................................................19Patrioticsentiments–TheTaiwanissueandforeignmedia ..............................................................19HowtocureSARS–publichealtheducation .............................................................................................22Leaningonscience,butnoroomfor”individualacts” ..........................................................................23Thehealthworkersandthecadres–modelworkersandmilitaryreferences..........................24Pricespeculation–greenlightforcritique ................................................................................................25Theturningpoint ...................................................................................................................................................26Anewgenerationofleadersenterthestage..............................................................................................27
X
NanfangZhoumoreportingonSARS........................................................................................................................28AshortglimpseofaGuangzhouonalert .....................................................................................................28Hearsaytobefoughtwithinformation ........................................................................................................29Negotiatingtheroleofthemedia ...................................................................................................................30Anonymoussources..............................................................................................................................................30Thesilenceandtheturningpoint...................................................................................................................31Thechallengeofthecountrysideandthevoiceofvillagepeople ....................................................32The“atypical”caseofHaicheng.......................................................................................................................33
ThetaintedmilkscandalintheRenminRibao ....................................................................................................34Aclearconnection .................................................................................................................................................34Consumerinformation ........................................................................................................................................35“Whathaveyoudonesofar?”and“Whoknewwhatwhen?”.............................................................35Critiqueofthefoodsafetysystem ..................................................................................................................36Criminaltrialsandgovernmentaccountability ........................................................................................38Theonlinepublic....................................................................................................................................................40Wenvisits”ordinarypeople”–theonlyherointhestory...................................................................40
Thediscourseofopenness(公开) ..................................................................................................................42
ThetaintedmilkscandalintheNanfangZhoumo .............................................................................................43Betweenthelines...................................................................................................................................................43Discipliningjournalists........................................................................................................................................44Netizensasasource..............................................................................................................................................44
Thestormofaccountability(问责风暴) ......................................................................................................45
Questionsoflegalityandlawyersasasource ...........................................................................................47Theindustryandthe“lawofthejungle” .....................................................................................................48
ThecaseofSouthKorea .................................................................................................................................................49SouthKoreanmedia .............................................................................................................................................49Professionalethicsunderpressure ...............................................................................................................49Publicoutrageandadpullouts .......................................................................................................................50Conservativemedia’sreactions.......................................................................................................................51Marketforcesandnationalism ........................................................................................................................52
Concludingnotes .........................................................................................................................................52Tables ..............................................................................................................................................................56Table1:SourcesusedinthetwopaperswhencoveringtheSARSoutbreak..........................................56Table2:Sourcesusedinthetwopaperswhencoveringthetaintedmilkscandal ..............................57
Literature .......................................................................................................................................................59
1
Introduction–topicandquestions“Ifeelextremelyguiltyandsincerelyapologizetoallofyou.”1 Thesewerethewordsof
ChinesePrimeMinisterWenJiabaotoChinaandtherestoftheworldwhenthescopeof
the “taintedmilk scandal”becameevident inOctober2008.Wen'swordswere a rare
incident of a high government official accounting for his actions in a leadership that
seldom answers to critique and that works hard to prevent for channels of public
critiquetoemerge.
51 9002infants were hospitalised for various kidney problems3related to the
consumption of contaminated baby formula, where the industrial chemicalmelamine
hadbeenadded tomake theprotein level lookhigher. Sixdeathsamong infantswere
confirmedinMainlandChina.Non‐fatalcaseswerereportedinHongKong,Macaoand
Taiwan, and products containing melamine were found in many other countries.
Altogether300000babiesarebelievedtohavebeensickenedbythemilkformula.
In2003,WenofferedsimilarapologiesafterChinahadnot informedtheWorld
HealthOrganisation (WHO) about an outbreak of thedeadly SARS‐virus inNovember
2002inthesouthernGuangdong‐provinceuntilfourmonthslater,causingadelayinthe
response to the epidemic. The two scandals are similar in that they brought national
shametoChina,highlightedseriousshortcomingsinthesystemanditsgovernanceand
representedadirectthreattothepeople’shealth.
In this paper, I will examine how two Chinese newspapers covered these
scandals.Inbothcases,poorinformationsystemscombinedwithintentionalcoverups
made the situations worse and finally led to top leaders being held accountable and
leavingtheirposts,tocallsforbettersupervision,regulationandmoreopenness.
My aim is to consider what implications these incidents and the reporting on
themmayhavehadonthepublicsphereinChina.Whoweregivenavoiceinthepapers?
Whattopicswereaddressedandwhichwordswereused?Inwhatwaydidofficialand
liberalnewspapersdifferintheircoverage?Bylookingatthesetwocases,onefromthe
early years of the decade and the other toward the end, I hope to be able to say
somethingaboutthedevelopmentwithinthepublicsphereoverthisperiodoftime.
1AsiaTimes,October10,2008:“MilkscandalsoursChina’s‘softpower’”.2WHO’sofficialhomepage.3Includingkidneystonesthatareveryraretofindamonginfants,accordingtotheWHO.
2
ThelimitationsofmypaperInordertostaywithinthescopeofmypaper,Iwillfocusonthereportingintheinitial
phases (characterised by silence or censorship), the breakthroughs (when official
information is released) and the first days after thebreakthroughs. Such an approach
willbeinstrumentalinobservingtherelationshipbetweenopennessandcensorshipin
acrucialphase.Thepapers Ihave takenmymaterial from, theRenminRibaoandthe
Nanfang Zhoumo, are not chosen to reflect the general picture of howChinesemedia
covered theseevents,but rather theyserveas twoextremesonacontinuumbetween
strictlyofficialandmoreliberalpapers.
Ibelievethatcomparingthesenewspaperswillbeusefulinobservingthelimits
on public discourse as well as the relationship between the official andmore liberal
discourse.Onsensitiveissues,theRenminRibaotogetherwiththeofficialnewsagency
Xinhuaset thestandardforhowtoreportwithinthe limitsofcensorship. In thesame
cases, theNanfangZhoumoandothermore liberalpublicationsuseclevermethods to
pushthelimits.
Theory
PublicsphereIn his book The structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, German sociologist
JürgenHabermasdescribesanidealsituationwherethepublicexercisesinfluenceover
otherinstitutionsthroughrationaldebateinthepublicsphere.Atthecoreofhistheory
istheideathatlegitimaterulemustbuildonanargumentativediscourseandthatpower
liesexclusivelyinthebestargument.4
There are three objective demands for a public sphere: a disinterest in the
participants’ statuses, that themes of common concern are debated and new themes
broughtintothelightandthattheforuminwhichthedebatetakesplaceisinclusiveto
allmembersofsociety.5Thepublicsphereisontheonehandseparatedfromtheprivate
sphereofthefamilyandontheotherfromthesphereofpublicauthority(thestate).
Habermasclaimsthatthoseconditionswereclosesttobepresentinthecafésand
saloons in England and France in the eighteenth century, but that they eroded in the
4Habermas1989.5Habermas1989:36f
3
centuriestocomeduetocapitalisthegemonyoverlabourandmassmedia’ssubmission
toprivateorstateprivilegedinterest.6
Newspaperswere attributed a special role in stimulating the emergence of the
public sphere in the late seventeenthcentury.At this time, critical journalsandmoral
weeklies,increasinglyconcernedwithissuesofgeneralsocialandpoliticalsignificance,
emerged parallel to the saloons and provided a new forum for the conduct of public
debate.7In the social‐democratic welfare state, however, Habermas argues that the
newspapers have been given institutional guarantees and thereby moved into the
political sphere of the state. At the same time, private interest, organised in interest
organisations and political parties, has moved into the public sphere, where these
interests are put to the fore through thework of professional public relation officers.
The result is a “re‐feudalisation of the public sphere,” a situation characterised by
displayofprivateinterestbeforeamassaudiencemoreorlessinterestedinpolitics.
Habermas’stheoryhasbeendescribedasgroundbreakingandbeeninfluentialin
the study of civic life. It has nevertheless met much critique, among others, from
Schudson. He finds it “profoundly ahistorical and entirely insensitive to the ways in
which intellectual andmoral ideals of public life have themselves shifted over time.”8
Schudsonargues that suchapublic sphereneverexisted in theU.S.,whichhas rather
been going through periods of trust‐based, party‐based and rights‐based models of
citizenship.
JohnB.ThompsonhasalsodirectedimportantcritiquetoHabermas’stheory.He
claims itneglects theroleofpopularsocialmovementsof theperiod, that ithasa too
selectivedescriptionof the characterof theprintedpressand that it fails to take into
account the implications of the restricted access to the public sphere forwomen and
peasants9. Of special interest here, is his questioning of Habermas’s conception of
publicnessand itsnormative implications.Thompsonexplainshow the ideal situation
where reason rules through an inclusive open debate is based on the idea that
“individualscometogetherinasharedlocaletoengageindialoguewithoneanotheras
equal participants in a face‐to‐face conversation.” He points to how it would be
practically impossible today, in aworldwhere actionsmay affect individualswhoare
widely dispersed in space and time, to carry out a debate where all affected could6Habermas1989.7Thompson19958Schudson1999:39Thompson1995:71‐75
4
participate.“Millionswouldbereducedtosilencewhileothersspokeintheirname,and
theconcernsoffuturegenerationswouldfindnoplaceontheagendaoftheliving,”he
says, referring to the need for governments and international bodies to come to
decisionsonglobalissuessuchasenvironmentalprotection.Thompsonconcludesthat
“wemust seek to develop away of thinking aboutmoral‐practical issueswhich does
justice to the new and historically unprecedented circumstances under which these
issuesarisetoday.”10
Having raised these important questions about Habermas’s concept, I
neverthelessregisterhowthecriticssuccessfullyuseitasareferencepointinorderto
describethecurrentcondition,asIwilldohere.RaymondKuhndefines“publicsphere”
asan“institutionalframeworkandsetofpracticeswhichencouragewideandinclusive
public debate about issues of social and political importance.”11I find this approach
comprehensive,andwillusethisunderstandingofHabermas’stheoryinthispaper.
Thefruitfulnessofusingtheconceptofapublicsphereasananalyticaltoolwhen
studying China has also been questioned, among others by Philip Huang. On the
backgroundofChina’sspecifichistoryofsocio‐politicalorganisation,heargues for the
needto“breakoutoftheoldconceptualhabitsofpostulatingasimplebinaryopposition
betweenstateandsociety”bystudyingwhathecallsthe“thirdrealm.”12Thethirdrealm
consists of entities that grew out of the state‐imposed organisation of society into
segmented communes/brigades in agricultural areas andworkunits (danwei单位) in
thecities.Thosewere“tightlyknitwithinthemselves,but largelysegmentedfromone
another.”1314Here,heargues,thestatejoinswithsocietyforpublicactivitiesbeyondthe
capacityoftheformalbureaucraticapparatus.Withahistoryofoverfourdecades,these
entitieshaveoperationallogicsontheirownthatare“distinctbothfromstateagencies
andprivateassociations.”15
While acknowledging the value of studying the processes within such a third
realmspecifictotheChinesehistoricalexperience,Ineverthelessthinkthatthereisno
needtotakeoffthe“glasses”ofHabermasandhispublicspheretobeabletodoso.
10Ibid1995:26311KuhninRandall1998:24.12Huang1993.13Ibid1993:237.14PerryandLü(1997)havenotedthe“cellular”natureoftheurbanworkunitsintheMao‐state.Thedanweiwasutilisedforpoliticalmobilisation,butalsoprovideditsworkerswithsocialbenefits,suchashousing,medicalcareandcanteens.Bjorklundexplainshowtheveryphysicalconstructionofthedanweis,withwallsaroundthemandbuildingsfacinginwards,excludesoutsidersand“atthesametimeprovidesabasisforintegratingthosewithinitintoaneffectivesocial,economicandpoliticalunit.”(BjorklundinPerryandLü1997)15Huang1993:238.
5
BarretMcCormickandLiuQingpointtothecontradictioninHabermas’stheory
that on the one hand, he says the public sphere is a “historical category,” but on the
otherhand,heuses it asa “normative concept toexpress idealsofopenness, equality
andreasoneddebate.”TheyarguethatHabermashimselfopenedforawiderusageand
that it empirically speaking could be several public spheres, among them which the
“liberalmodelofthebourgeoispublicsphere”isrelativelyclosetotheidealtype.16
Facing the critics,McCormick and Liu first argue thatHabermas’s ideas are no
less problematic when empirically applied to the West than to China, as his claim
regardingthedevelopmentofapublicsphereinearlymodernEuropehasnotwithstood
empirical scrutiny. Secondly, they remark that as no society has reached Habermas’s
ideal public sphere, it would be “orientalist” to claim that values such as open and
reasoneddebateareessentialcharacteristicstoWesternsocieties,butnottotheEast17.
Applying this approach toHabermas’s theory, I believe it ispossible touse the
publicsphereasbothanempiricalandnormativeanalyticaltoolwhenstudyingChina.
Onemightempiricallystudytheinstitutionsandotherspaceswhereapublicdebateis
carriedout.Doingthat,factorssuchaslegalframeworkofthepress,degreesofeditorial
independence,censorship,thedegreeofaccesstothedebateandwhichtopicsarebeing
discussedwillbeusefulmeasurestoconsider,asIwilldohere.
The idea that Habermas’s liberal public sphere embodies remains central to
democratic theory.18When discussing China using Habermas’s concept, many have
soughttoconsiderthepoliticalimplicationschangesinthepublicspheremighthavefor
ademocratictransformationinthecountry.Thiswillnotbethemainfocusinthispaper,
althoughIwillcommentuponitinmyconcludingnotes.
Methodandmaterial
ThepapersIhavecollectedmymaterialofaltogether352articlesfromaretheRenmin
Ribao(人民日报),which is thenationalofficialpartyorganof theCommunistPartyof
China(CPC),andtheNanfangZhoumo(南方周末),aweeklywithitsmaindistributionin
Guangzhou.19Iwillgiveafullerpresentationofthesetwopapersbelow.
16McCormickandLiu2011:13.17Ibid.18McCarthyinHabermas1989.19IcollectedthematerialattheNationalLibraryofChina’s(国家图书馆)archiveofnewspapersinBeijing.
6
Whohasasay?AquantitativeandqualitativeinquiryWithatheoreticalbaseintheHabermasiantheoryofthepublicsphere,Ihavechosento
putaspecialattentiontoinclusivenesstothediscourseandtowhattopicsarebrought
into the spotlight.When I read the articles, I counted and registered the sources the
papershadused(Seetable1and2).Thequestionofwhosevoicesapaperchosetocarry
initscolumnsiscrucialtounderstandtheeditorialpolicyofthepaperandthenatureof
censorship.
Yuezhi Zhao has noted the lack of voice by several groups of people in the
Chinese news media. In her study of the media discourse about China’s WTO
membership, she finds that in spite of the impact amembershipwould have on their
lives,neitherasingleworkernorafarmerwasinterviewedintheentirecoverage.20
Amutedgroupisofcourseastrongindicationofanunequalpowerrelation.At
thesametime,thegroupswhodogettospeakarenotnecessarilypowerfuljustbecause
theyaregivenaccesstothediscourse.Interviewsandothertextsareeditedaccordingto
whatthejournalistsandeditorswantforthefinalstoryandtotheformalandinformal
rulesofreporting.Asaresult,argumentscanbebrokenuportakenoutofcontextand
importantaspectscanbeomitted.Aparticipantinthedebatemayalsospeakthecaseof
anotherpersonorgroup.Forexample,ajournalistmayspeakthecaseoftheconsumers.
These variations will not be reflected in my numbers and will therefore be given
additionalattentionintheanalysesofthetexts.21
DiscourseanalysisIn order to expandmy analysis, I looked closely atwhat kind of language and terms
wereusedinmymaterial.
Theconceptofcriticaldiscourseanalysis(CDA)wasdevelopedby,amongothers,
Robert Fairclough and RuthWodak at the beginning of the 1990s. It is not seen as a
methodortheoryonitsown,butratherasaninterdisciplinaryapproach,ora“school,”
that systematically takes intoaccount the structuresof socio‐political context. In their
bookMethodsofcriticaldiscourseanalysis,WodakandMeyerdefineCDAas
being fundamentally interested in analysing opaque as well as transparent structural
relationshipsofdominance,discrimination,powerandcontrolasmanifestedinlanguage.
20ZhaoinLee2003:44.21Allinall,thenumbersareofsecondaryimportance,buttheymaysupportsomeoftheargumentsIwillmakeandhelpprovideaclearerimpressionofthetwopapers.
7
In other words, CDA aims to investigate critically social inequality as it is expressed,
constituted,legitimized,andsoon,bylanguageuse(orindiscourse.)22
AgoodexampleofastudywithaCDAapproach is foundinYew‐JinFang’sanalysisof
howofficialnewspapersonMainlandChina(thePeople’sDaily)andTaiwan(theCentral
DailyNews)coveredsocialunrest inSouthAfricaandArgentinaatthemiddleandthe
endofthe1980s.
Inheranalysis,Fangexaminesthemainlexicalchoicesthejournalistshadmade
whenwritingabouttheevents.Shethenlooksatthechoiceofheadlinesandthemesin
order to see what topics the paper had prioritised. Next, she looks at actor roles,
quotationsandnewssourcesand finallyshecarriesoutagrammaticalanalysiswitha
focusontransitivity.Thelattershowshowtherolesofdifferentparticipantsarebeing
downplayedorhighlightedinanygivensituation.
Paralleltothedetailedanalysisoflanguage,sheconsiderstherelationsbetween
herfindingsinthetextsandthelargersocio‐politicalcontextoftheday.Inthebeginning
ofherpaper,sheexplainsthatinthe1980s,therulingregimesinthePRCandtheROC
bothstrivedforgreaterdiplomaticrecognitionasthelegitimateChinesegovernmentby
theinternationalcommunity.ThewhiteSouthAfricangovernmentmaintainedfriendly
diplomaticrelationswiththeROCgovernment,butnotwiththePRCgovernment.
InhercasestudyoftheSouthAfricancivilunrestinMarch1985,Fangfindsthat
the journalists’ choice of words, headlines, themes, sources and grammar to a large
extentservetosupporttheirrespectiveregimespoliticalneedsoftheday.Forexample,
thePeople’sDailymostlyusedanti‐apartheidsourceswhereas theCentralDailyNews
gaveastrongvoicetotheSouthAfricangovernmentandpolicesources.Lookingatthe
grammar,shefoundthatthePeople’sDailymadeextensiveuseoftransitivesentencesto
highlighttheactiveroleofthepoliceinthekillingsofthedemonstrators.
When turning to the case of Argentina and the spring of 1989, however, she
notifiestheconvergenceinpresentationoftheeventinthetwopapers,somethingshe
atteststoadifferentdiplomaticclimateandthusdifferentneedsoftheleaders.
Inthispaper,IwillfollowaCDA‐approachwhereIcriticallyconsidermymaterial
inlightofthesocio‐politicalcontext,asintheexampleabove.Asmymainfocusisonthe
differentphasesofreporting,Ichosetofollowthetimelineofthecoveragecloselyand
includeallpublishedmaterial,ratherthananalysingafewarticlesingreatdetail.
22WodakandMeyer2009:10
8
RegionalperspectiveToprovideforaregionalcomparativeperspective,Iwilllookshortlyatmytwocasesin
thelightofhowasimilarnationalcrisisinSouthKoreawascoveredbythemediathere.
I have chosen to look at the case of the once internationally recognised stem cell
scientist Hwang Woo‐suk, who was accused of having broken international research
ethicsandlaterofhavingfabricateddataforhisresearch.Iwillnotgointodepthonthis
case; my aim is rather to show what implications a similar event had on the public
sphereinanotherEast‐Asiancountrywithadifferentmediasystem.
Background
Chinesemediatoday:newpowers,controlandcommercialismThrough the overshadowing authority of the Party’s Propaganda Department, the
Communist Party of China (CPC) still has control over the media, both in terms of
ownershipandcontent.But, therehavebeensignificantchanges in theChinesemedia
landscapeduringthepast30years,andmostmediaenterpriseshavebeenthrowninto
the market to become profit‐making actors. As a result, consumers have gotten
considerableinfluenceoverthewaythemediadevelops.Inordertoselltheirproducts,
media houses have reoriented to include profitmaking as one of their organisational
goals.23Oneresultofthisisthataliberalisationintermsoftopicshastakenplace,and
manyhavediscussed thepolitical implicationsofdiscourses that carryvalues suchas
individualism, consumerism and scepticism of authority being articulated in music
television,soapoperasandweekendconsumerreports.24
McCormick and Liu argue that even though this commercial culture is often
apolitical, it“maynonethelessunderminethetraditionalrelationshipbetweenpolitical
authorities and the public. 25 Others have claimed that in a Chinese context,
commercialisation has led to amore open debate through a focus on individuals and
things that are relevant to their lives. Hallain says the fact that the experience of
ordinary people is increasingly the prime source of evidence and value in the news
would seem to be an “important symbol of a shift towards a democratic political
culture.”26YuezhiZhaohasobservedhowthistrendinfluencesthereportingofscandals,
23MainCurranandPark(eds.)2000:22.24MainCurranandPark(eds.)2000:31.25McCormickandLiuinLee2003:139.26HallaininMcCormickandLiuinLee2003:154.
9
sayingthat“thereisconsiderablemarketforscandals,butscandalsarefarmorelikelyto
bepresentedintermsofanindividualwithmoralproblemsthanasystemicfailure.”27
Theopeninguppolicyandthestrongfocusofeconomicprogresshasmadethe
economiceliteandthemiddleclassnewpowers intheChinesesociety.28Thishashad
itsimpactonmediaaswellasmostotheraspectsofChinesesociety.YuezhiZhaosums
upthistransformation:
TheChinesemediasystemis increasinglybecomingaplatformforprofitmakingwhile
speakinginthevoiceoftherulingPartyeliteandtherisingbusinessandurbanmiddle
classeswhoarethedomesticandinternationalcapitalmostwantedaudiences.29
Shenotes how thepublishing of a successful business story simultaneously is a story
aboutthesuccessoftheParty’seconomicreformprogramanditsideologyforopenness.
She further argues that what may seem to be a paradox in the new Chinese media
system–persistenceofcontrolinthepoliticaldomainandliberalisationintheeconomic
andlifestylespheres–mayaswellbeconsideredtwosidesofthesamecointhatserves
theinterestofthepoliticalandeconomicelite.30
TherolesoftheChinesejournalistBefore1979,Chinesemediawas”boththemouthandtongueandtheeyesandearsof
ChinaasembodiedintheChineseCommunistParty.”31Inspiteofmarketisation,therole
oftheChinesejournalistremainsclosetothatofastateinformationworker.
Manyhavearguedthatthissituationisnotexclusivetothepost1949experience,
butthat”thereislittletraditionofimpartialorobjectivemedia,a‘fourthestate’rolefor
themediaor,even,professionalindependenceinjournalism”32inChina.Accordingtoa
traditionalChineseview,mediaisaninstrumentforusebythosewhocontrolit.33
A passage in a commentary written by an unnamed journalist in the Renmin Ribao
duringtheSARS‐periodillustratesthisrole:
News media has already done substantial work spreading knowledge about how to
prevent and cure SARS, and there is still much work left. Media must, according to
changes in the epidemic situation and according to the needs of the cadres and the
27Zhao2000inMcComrickandLiuinLee2003.28ZhaoinThomasandNain(eds.)2004.29ZhaoinThomasandNain(eds.)2004:205.30ZhaoinThomasandNain(eds.)2004:188.31CullenandHuainRandall1998:16132KuldipinCullenandHuainRandall1998:163.33CullenandHuainRandall1998:163.
10
people, continue to carry out the work of making known the scientific knowledge of
preventingandcuringthedisease.34
Thatbeingsaid, theprofessional identityoftheChinese journalist isneitherone‐sided
norcutinstone.Whenexaminingdiscoursesofjournalisticidealsamongjournalistsin
China,ZhongdangPanandYeLufoundfourdifferentdiscourses:thatofthepartypress,
Confucian intellectuals, professionalism and market economy. 35 The principles of
journalisticpracticesinthepartypressdiscourseare“loyaltytotheParty,consistency
with Party lines and observant of the Party’s discipline.” In the discourse of the
Confucianintellectualsitis“speakingthetruth,stickingtofactsandbeingopentonew
ideas.”Intheprofessionalismdiscourse,“objectivity,autonomyandrationality”arethe
guidingprinciplesandinthemarketeconomyone“beingwellreceivedbythepublicin
the form of ratings, circulations and ad revenues”36is crucial goals. The authors
underlinethatintheirdailywork,diverseandoftenconflictingideasofjournalismare
beingutilisedandappropriatedthroughjournalists’improvisedandsituatedpractices.37
TheexposureofcorruptionisataskthatthePartyhasgiventojournalists,asthe
problemprovedtobecolossalalsowithinofficialranks.Theterm“professionalism”in
the contextof journalismwas firstused inan influentialprofessional journal in1999,
wheretheauthortriedtoconnect“theWesternnotionofprofessionalism”totheParty’s
call formedia surveillanceagainst corruption.38Today, the central authorities tolerate
greaterpressopennessonwaterandairpollutionandfoodandmedicinequality.These
are problems that, if left unreported and unsolved, might stir up serious popular
dissatisfaction. Veteran Journalist Zhan Jian remarks, however, that the central
governmenttriestoreassertcontrolovermediaassoonasithasgottentheinformation
“to cool off public emotions and convey an image of a competent government that is
solvingtheproblem.”39
ElinSætherhaslookedattheemergingtrendofinvestigatingjournalisminChina
and found thatwhileworkingwithin a state‐ownedmedia system, journalists seek to
establishnewspacesofrepresentationbyincludingpreviouslyabsentperspectiveand
34RenminRibao:“Leanonscienceandfirmlykeepconfidence”“依靠科学坚定信心”,April24,2003.(originaltext:新闻媒体在普及防治非典型肺炎知识方面已经做了大量工作,还有大量工作要做。要针对疫情变化和干部群众的要求,继续做好科学防治知识的普
及工作).35PanandLuinLee2003.36Ibid2003:21937PanandLuinLee(ed.)2003:21538PanandLuinLee(ed.)2003.39ZhaninShirk2011:20.
11
voices in the public sphere.40She shows how journalists write in system critique
betweenthelines,forexamplehowonejournalistshowedthefailureofthegovernment
tocontrolanillegalbloodbusinessthatescalatedtheAIDSepidemicthroughtellingthe
tragicpersonalstoryofanAIDSvictim.41
Anotherdevelopment thathas reshaped journalistic cultureand the roleof the
journalististhemovingawayfromstrictlyfixedsalariesfromthegovernment.Fromthe
1990s, bonuses were regularised as ”flexible wages” and distributed on basis of
individual merit instead of political commitment and seniority as earlier practised.42
Economic incentives in formofstory feesorgoodstorycashawardshas,accordingto
EricKit‐waiMa,ledtomoreaggressivejournalists.43
Ontheotherhand,inthewakeofmarketisation,journalistsallofasuddenfound
themselves in theprimenexusofexchange,wherebothpublicandcommercialbodies
paid them forpolitical andeconomical favours.44CommercialisationofChinesemedia,
Masumsup,involveshighlymanipulativerelationsbetweenpoliticalpowers,economic
interests and pay journalism, which is in sharp contrast to a romanticised view of a
democraticmarketplaceofideas.45
TheroleofglobalisationandtheInternetSome have argued that Internet technology dooms authoritarian governments by its
very nature.46So far, this has not been the case in China, although considerable
resourcesareused tocontrol the Internet.Apart frommore traditional techniques for
regulatingthemedia,aboveall,
theauthoritiesworktomaintainanatmosphereofsurveillanceandimplicitandexplicit
threats where those who work in the media will censor themselves rather than risk
incurringunwantedofficialattentionandpunitiveaction.47
TheInternethasneverthelesschangedthewayinformationcirculatesinsociety,andit
canbearguedthatitprovidesforamoreopenandmeaningfuldebateonseveralfields.
McCormick and Liu have shown how the Internet quickly started to influence
official discourse in China, even the Renmin Ribao. An explosion in a schoolhouse in
40Sæther2008:4.41Sæther2008:“MediaspolitiskerolleiKina”(RadiolectureatP2‐akademiet,NorwegianBroadcasting(NRK)).42MainCurranandPark(eds.)2000:22.43MainCurranandPark(eds.)2000:23.44MainCurranandPark(eds.)2000:23.45MainCurranandPark(eds.)2000:26.46McCormickandLiuinLee2003:142.47McCormickandLiuinLee(ed.)2003:145.
12
WanhaiCountyinruralJiangxiprovincein2001killedatleastfortypeople.Theofficial
press early blamed an unknown man described by villagers as psychotic, that had
allegedlycometotheschoolwithfireworks,fireditup,andleftasuicidenote.Thescene
was soon closed off, but a Hong Kong reportermanaged to interview local residents
usingalocalaccent.Hefoundoutthatduetopovertyandcorruptionoflocalleaders,the
villagershadbeenpressed tododangerousworkwith fireworksonanassembly line
andthattheexplosiveswerestoredattheschool.ThestoryspreadthroughtheInternet
toMainlandChinamedia,andeventheRenminRibaoreportedonthenewinformation
initsonlineversion.48
Afterthisinformationcameout,thenpremierZhuRongjimadeanapologytothe
NPC, saying that the governmentwouldwork to enforce rules thatwould avoid such
tragediesinthefuture.Thisexampleshowshowglobalisationandnewtechnologycan
influencepolicyandleadtoatleastalimiteddegreeofaccountability.
Theexamplealsoservestoshowthatalreadyby2001,beforetheSARSoutbreak,
theinfluenceoftheInternetwasvisibleintheChinesemedialandscape.In2001,China
onlyhad26millionInternetusers.Todayithas420millions49,andsocialmedia,suchas
blogs and chat rooms, has also made regular Chinese able to spread their own
informationaboutcases.XiaoQiangarguesthat“theriseofonlinepublicopinionshows
thattheCPCandgovernmentcannolongermaintainabsolutecontrolofthemassmedia
andinformation.”50AccordingtohimtheresultisapowershiftinChinesesociety.
Officialandunofficialideologies–“scientificdevelopment”andnationalismAfterHuJintaowasinauguratedasPresidentofthePRConMarch15th2003,theconcept
of “scientific development,” (kexue fazhan guan科学发展观,) together with that of
buildinga“harmonioussociety,”(hexieshehui和谐社会,)soonbecamecatchphrasesfor
his leadership that signalled changes in policy from the former generation of leaders.
Saich explains the new development strategy as one that “combine populist
authoritarianisminthepoliticalrealmwithashiftineconomicpolicythatfocusmoreon
thesustainabilityandqualityofeconomicgrowthratherthanitsspeed.”51Paralleltohis
commitmenttopeopleandregionsthathadbeenleftbehindbyeconomicreform,Saich
notesthatHufromthebeginningoptedforafirmergriponthepublicsphere.“Inplace
48McCormickandLiuinLee(ed.)2003:140ff.49中国互联网络信息中心ChinaInternetNetworkInformationCentre’swebpages.50XiaoQianginShirk2011:1551Saich2006:41.
13
of any significant reform, President Hu is offering cleaner and more efficient
government administration,”52he says in a summary written in 2005, the year Hu is
believed to have fully consolidated his power. Discussing the development of “Hu
thought,”JosephFewsmithclaimsthatthefirstuseofthephrase“scientificdevelopment
concept”appearstohavebeenbyHuJintaoduringaninspectiontriptoJiangxiProvince
inSeptember2003.53Inlightofthis,itisinterestingtoseehowtheword“scientific”was
usedinabroadersensethantheconventionalmeaningofthewordalreadyduringthe
SARS outbreak in spring the same year in my material. McGee called those broad
politicaltermsideographs:
Anideographisanordinary‐languagetermfoundinpoliticaldiscourse.Itisahighorder
abstraction representing commitment to a particular but equivocal and ill‐defined
normativegoal.54
Thesepotentterms,eventhoughunclear,areusedpreciselytogivethesenseofaclearly
understood and shared meaning. “Scientific development” and “Harmonious society”
maybe considered such ideographs and it is thereforeneeded to critically studyhow
theyarefilledwithmeaninginparticularcontexts.
TounderstandmediapolicyinChina,itisnecessarytounderstandthechallenge
posedby thedemiseof communism.The ideology thatbrought theCPC topowerhas
lost itsrelevance,andthequestionofhowtomaintainlegitimacyisacomplicatedand
urgentone.ZhouHehasremarkedthattheChineseCommuniststate,whichhasturned
itselfintoabureaucraticcapitalistsystem,is“endeavouringtoworkouthowtofitinto
the global system and legitimise its mandate to rule derived from a Communist
revolution that has lost its popular following.”55Nationalism has been one of the
answerstothischallenge.Butratherthananewmoralbanner,thepatrioticsentiment
ofnationalismhasbeenan:
effectivegluetoanotherwisefragmentednationandanemotionthatcouldbecunningly
manipulatedtoservestatepower,thusbecomingacatch‐allideologicalartefactformost
ofthespiritualdiscourseinthecountry.56
Toevokesentimentsofnationalism,itisoftenreferredtohowChinahasbeenwronged
bycolonialpowersinthepast,especiallyduringtheOpiumWars,ortoChina’shistory52Saich2006:41.53Fewsmith2004.54McGee1980.55HeinLee(ed.)2003:196.56HeinLee(ed.)2003:211.
14
asoneof theworld’smostpowerfulnationsand its intentions toreturn to its rightful
position as a super power and a full and equal member of the international
community.57The balancing between official and popular nationalism has become a
challenge to the Party in the governing ofmedia, and it strives not only to uphold a
patriotic sentiment, but also to keep it from growing out of hand, putting China’s
internationalreputationatrisk.58
Feeding the nationalist sentiment among people has indeed also proved
necessary inorder touphold the legitimacyof theCPCathome.WhenPresident Jiang
Zeminreleasedthetwenty‐fourcrewmembersoftheU.S.spyplanethatcollidedwitha
Chinese fighter in 2001, many self‐proclaimed nationalists accused him of being too
soft59. SuishengZhaohasnoted oneWestern reporter’s observation that “for the first
timesince theCommunistParty tookover in1949, therulers inBeijingwereaccused
notofcorruptionortotalitarianism,butoftreason.”60
ReportingonurgenthealthcrisesThe Chinese party‐state’s traditional approach to “risk communication” grows out of
Marxistmediatheory,wherepoliticalstabilityisprioritizedandinformationiscensored
and controlled.61It is also rooted in the older Chinese Confucian tradition of the
paternalist state. 62 Sæther showed how this media strategy was conceived by a
journaliststudentshehadadiscussionwith.Thestudentsaidanearthquakehappened
inanotherpartofthecountryduringthespringfestivalinherchildhood,butthemedia
did not report on it until the celebrations were over because “otherwise people’s
vacationswouldbedestroyedanditcouldhaveanegativeeffectonsocialstability.”
Around big national events, the control of media is tightened and special
instructions are sent to media. Both cases I will discuss below happened in such
sensitiveperiods.InMarch2003,theNationalPeople’sCongress,wherepresidentJiang
Zemin would pass on the presidency to his successor Hu Jintao, was carried out. A
peaceful succession of powerwas of utmost importance andwould, as journalist and
authorPhillipP.Pannotes, provide ”freshevidence that theCommunistshad founda
way toaddress the shortcomingsof theirautocraticpolitical systemwithoutadopting
57Lampton2001.58RoseninLee2003.59Zhao2004:2660Zhao2004:2661Tong2011:50.62Sæther2008:“MediaspolitiskerolleiKina”(RadiolectureatP2‐akademiet,NorwegianBroadcasting(NRK)).
15
democraticreformsorgivinguppower.”63Inautumn2008,Chinawasgoingtocarryout
oneofitsgreatestnationalprestigeprojects–theBeijingOlympics.
PatriciaM.Thorntonarguesinherarticle“SARSandtheResilienceoftheChinese
BodyPolitic” that “crisis itselfmayhaveemergedasamodeofgovernance in itsown
right during the post‐revolutionary era.”64She notes how the rhetoric of crisis may
indeed“improvethespeedandscopeofpolicyimplementationandreducethe‘central‐
field’gapintheshortterm”andthat
itbearsnoticethatcrisesarethemselvesdiscursivelyconstructedbyleaders,whoframe
them in a manner conductive to their particularistic interests and needs and in
accordancewiththeirperceptions.65
Inotherwords,todefineasituationasa“nationalcrisis,”likewewillseewasdonequite
clearlyinboththefollowingexamples,mayhelpimplementpoliciesthatareunpopular
onalocallevelbycreatinganatmosphereofnationalinterest.
TheRenminRibaoTheRenminRibao(人民日报)istheofficialdailypaperoftheCentralCommitteeofthe
Communist Party of China. It has aworldwide circulation of 3 to 4million, including
versionsinseveralnon‐Chineselanguages.TheEnglishnameisPeople’sDaily,andthe
onlineversion,whichwasestablishedin1997,iscalledRenminWang(人民网.)
Since itsestablishment in1948,theRenminRibaohasbeenawindowinwhich
officialpolicieshavebeenannounced,butalso,especiallyafterthereformandopening
upstarted,wherethedirectionoffuturepoliciesandofimportantpersons’careerscan
beobserved.McGregorsaysinhisbookThePartythattheRenminRibao”actsasakind
ofinternalbulletinboardforofficials….”66
During the Cultural Revolution, the Renmin Ribao was one of few sources of
information.Today,commentariesandopinionsstillhavetobeapprovedbytheParty,
butonecannonethelessfindviewpointsanddebatesthatarenotyetofficialpolicy.
Thewithdrawalof subsidieshashappened slowerwith theRenminRibao than
mostChinesepapers,anditisfacingbotheconomicalandcredibilitychallenges.Wudun
63Pan2008:199f.64Thornton2009:25.65Thornton2009:47.66McGregor2010:8.
16
andCristof say that ”Ina fully commercialmarket, thePeople’sDaily,China’s flagship
newspaper,wouldlikelyvanishwithouttrace,sogreatareitscredibilityproblems.”67
EricKit‐waiManotesthatthebasereadersofofficialpaperstoalargeextentare
officeswhere it is considered politically correct to read such papers,whereas people
wouldreadmassappealpapersathome.68
TheNanfangZhoumoManyhavedescribed theGuangzhou‐basedweeklyNanfangZhoumoasoneofChina’s
most liberal and outspoken newspapers. Pan says about The Southern Newspaper
Group, the news group the weekly belongs to, that it is ”An oasis of open‐minded
thinking”andthatit’smostdaringpaper,TheNanfangZhoumo,is”winningreadersand
inspiring journalists across the country by showing how aggressive reporting and
elegantwritingcouldbepossibledespitecensorship.”69
Sæther notes how theNanfang Zhoumohas been particularly important in the
processoftheexpansionofthecriticaljournalismshehasfoundwithinsomemediain
China.70Journalistsandeditors intheNanfangZhoumohave,accordingtoher,defined
theirpoliticalroleinoppositiontothetop‐downdirectionofthemouthpiecediscourse,
resultinginapaperreflectingpeople’sgrievances,exposingcorruption,abuseofpower
andothersocialproblems.71
ThePearlRiverdeltahasaspecialpositioninChinesemediahistory.Onereason
is that 18million people living in this area have access to programming spilling over
fromHong Kong broadcasters, including local productions and foreign programs72. A
second reason is that the area has been an experimenting ground for economic
liberalisation from the early 1990s. The owner of Nanfang Zhoumo is Guangdong
Province,towhichitprovidessignificantrevenues.Continuingofficialownershippaired
withcommercialisationhas led toanew incentivestructure,andGuangdongProvince
hassoughttoprotectthepopularpaperfromconservativeauthoritiesinBeijing.73That
being said, throughout its history several editors have been removed from their
positionsorevendetained.74
67CullenandHuainRandall(ed.)1998:162.68MainCurranandPark(eds.)2000:30.69Pan2008:239.70Sæther2008.71Sæther2008:258.72MainCurranandPark(eds.)2000:25.73McCormickandLiuinLee2003:153.74Oneexampleisthe2004detentionoftopeditors,followingthepaper’sreportingonSARSandonamigrantworkerwhowaskilledinpolicecustody(Stern,RachelE.andO’Brien,KevinJ.2011)
17
Analysis
Havingpaintedabackdropofthehistoricalandpresentsituationofmediaandtherole
ofthejournalistinChinaaswellassomeofthecurrentpoliticalideologies,Iwillnowgo
through the main findings from my material and discuss them underway with
referencestomybackgroundtopicsandtootherrelevantwritings.
TheRenminRibaoontheSARSoutbreakThefirstreportontheSARSoutbreakintheRenminRibaowasonFebruary12th.Itwas
headlined”SomeareasinGuangdongprovincehavehadcasesof‘atypicalpneumonia’75
(feidianxingfeiyan非典型肺炎)–expertssaythataslongastherightkindofprevention
isexercisedthereisnoneedtobeafraid.”76Theinformationwastakenfromstatenews
wireXinhua’snewsservice,whereithadbeenpublishedonFebruary11th,andthesmall
articlewasplacedintheleftcorneronthesecondpage.Overthenexttwomonths,the
paperhadonlysevenminorarticlesonthecase.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC77)was themain office to
speakaboutthediseaseatthispoint. Intwoarticles, itstressedthat80percentofthe
sickenedhadalreadybeensenthomefromthehospital.Inscientificcircles,thesearch
forthesourceoftheoutbreakhadalreadystarted,andthedirectoroftheCDC,LiLiming,
saiditwasguaranteedthattheillnesswasavirusandthatitwascurable78.OnFebruary
19th,theCDCsaidithadfoundindicationsthatwhatitwasdealingwithwasaformof
Chlamydia bacteria that spreads through close contact with persons or birds79. They
concludedthatacomprehensiveandcompletedtreatmentwasneededandunderlined
thenecessityofpreventivemeasures.OnApril3rd,ataMinistryofHealth(MOH)press
conference,theministeraddedthatsomeforeignspecialistsbelievedthediseasewasa
virus80.
75LaterknownasSARS(Severeacuterespiratorysyndrome).IwillusethewordSARSaboutthediseasethroughoutthepaper.ThenewspapersIreadusedtheChinesetermalsoafterthenameSARSwasintroduced.76XinhuainRenminRibao:”Atypicalpneumonia–expertssaythataslongastherightkindofpreventionisexercisedthereisnoneedtobeafraid”“广东省部分地区出现非典型肺炎专家指出只要预防得当不必恐慌”February12,2003.77ThisisaninstitutionofthePRC,nottobeconfusedwiththeAmericanCDC.78XinhuainRenminRibao:“TheSARSinGuangdongisalreadybroughtundereffectivecontrol,mostsickenedhasrecoveredandlefthospital”“广东非典型肺炎已得到有效控制大部分病人痊愈出院”,February15,2003.79XinhuainRenminRibao:“ThecauseofSARSisbasicallydetermined,theuseoftargetedantibioticsisveryeffective”“广东非典型肺炎病因基本确定采用针对性强的抗生素治疗非常有效”,February19,2003.80XinhuainRenminRibao:“TheMinisterofHealth,ZhangWenkang,isansweringjournalists’questionsaboutSARS”“卫生部部长张文康关于防治非典型肺炎答记者问”,April3,2003.
18
Businessasusual,butneedtoupgradethesystemWhenitstarteditsintensereportinginearlyApril,theRenminRibaopaintedapicture
ofasituationundercontrolandof“businessasusual”fortouristsandcompanies.Ina
storybasedontheApril3rdpressconferenceattheMOH,theMinisterofHealth,Zhang
Wenkang,assuredthatitwassafetotravelinChina,heevenencouragedpeopletocome,
andinformedthattheWHOhaddeclaredBeijingnottobeanepidemicareaanymore.81
Thenext day the deputy director of theTourist Bureau, SunGang, assured through a
pressreleasethat”Chinaisstillthemostfertilelandtoinvestinandthesafestplaceto
travel.”82Twoweeks later, on April 18th, the Tourist Bureau and theMOH sent out a
detailedplantothewholesectoronhowtotakethenecessaryprecautions.
Itislikelythatthegovernmentatthispointwasstillstrugglingtogetagraspof
thesituationand that theapproach takenat this firstpressconferencewas tocontrol
informationinordertocalmpeopledownandavoidpanic.Toprotecttheeconomyand
theclimateforforeigninvestmentsmightalsohavebeencrucial,consideringthestrong
focus on economic growth and the close ties between the government and business
owners. At the same time, it became obvious that the government was working
intensivelytosolvetheproblemsaroundtheoutbreak,anditquicklybecameclearthat
the system inplacehad severe flaws. In this firstphase, themost critical voice in the
discoursewasWuYi,vice‐premieroftheStateCouncil.VisitingtheCDCforaninformal
discussion about strengthening the system to handle sudden public health cases, she
underscored theneed tobuildand improve thesystemof responding toandhandling
suddenpublichealthcases,“especiallytheinformationsystemwithinpublichealthand
thesystemofwarningandreporting.”83
TimelyandaccordingtolawIn many articles concerning the developments since February (when SARS was first
reported,) itwas stressed that the local government ”timely” (jishi及时) reported the
disease. The ”timeliness” was put in the context of the law, and as SARS was not
classifiedasadiseaseunderthe”Lawofpreventionandcureofinfectiousdiseases”until
81BaiJianfeng白剑峰:“ZhangWenkangdeclaredataStateCouncilpress‐conferencethatitissafetoliveandtravelinChina”“张文康在国务院新闻发布会上宣布,在中国生活旅游是安全的”,RenminRibao,April4,2003.82GongWen龚雯:“TheresponsiblepersonattheNationaltravelbureauexpressed,whenexternallyinformingaboutthetravelsituation,thatitisassuredthatitiscompletelysafeandhealthytotraveltoanyplaceinChina”“国家旅游局负责人对外通报旅游情况表示中国各地的旅游安全和健康完全有保证”,RenminRibao,April4,2003.83XinhuainRenminRibao:“OnaninvestigationandresearchvisitattheCDC,WuYiemphasisthatitisneededtobuildandimprovetheresponseandhandlingsystemforsuddenlyemergingpublichealthcases”“吴仪在中国疾病预防控制中心调研时强调要抓紧建立和完善突发公共卫生事件应急处理机制”,April5,2003.(Originaltext:要抓紧建立和完善突发公共卫生事件应急反应处理机制,特别是公共卫生信息系统和预警报告机制)
19
mid February, the government had acted in time. ”After that, my nation timely
announcedthenationalsituation,andfromApril1stitreporteddailytotheWHOabout
theepidemicsituation,”84a journalist saidwhenevaluating thegovernment’shandling
ofthesituation.
TheconsequencesofSARSbeingsortedundercriminal lawwerediscussedand
explainedbyoneofthepaper’sjournalistinaconversationwithalegalexpertonApril
23rd. Here, the responsibility of both the government and of regular people were
outlined, but even though the law, whichwas quoted in the article, to a large extent
focusedonthegovernment’srightsandresponsibilities,themainfocusinthejournalists
andthelawexperts’commentswereonthecitizensresponsibilities.85
WHOasasourceFromApril1st,ChinastartedtoreportdailytotheWHO.OnApril3rd,thefirstdelegation
of WHO experts arrived at Guangzhou to learn about the situation, and the Renmin
Ribaofollowedtheevents leaningmainlyonofficialaccounts.TheHealthMinisterhad
beenconfident,however,whenheansweredaGermanjournalistattheApril3rdpress
conference,thatassoonastheWHOgottoknowthesituationinGuangdong, itwould
reconsideritsstandthatpeopleshouldnottraveltoHongKongandSouthChina.
AlthoughtheWHOmadeupanotinsignificant7,8percentofthesourcesinthe
discourse,itspositivecommentsaboutthegoodcooperationwiththeChinesesideand
theircontributionstotheworkoffindinggoodwaystocurethediseasewererepeated
several times, and I will argue that they had a limited access to the discourse,
considering their central role in coordinating thework of stopping the epidemic. The
factthatWHOexpertshadbeeninvitedthreetimestocometoChinatocooperatewith
theirexpertsservedasaproofthatChinahadbeenopenaboutthecaseandthatithad
beensensitivetotheWHOandtheinternationalcommunity’sneedforinformation.At
the same time, the government repeatedly said that it would work to increase the
cooperationwiththeWHO.
Patrioticsentiments–TheTaiwanissueandforeignmediaIn this first period of reporting, I found some situations where patriotic sentiments
becamepartofthediscourse.ThefirstexampleisinaverbaldisputewithTaiwan,the
otheroneisacritiqueofforeignmedia’swritingsaboutSARS.84BaiJianfeng白剑峰:“People’shealthisofutmostimportance–anevaluationofmycountry’sworktopreventandcureSARS”“人民健康重于泰山—我国非典型肺炎防治述评”,RenminRibao,April18,2003.(original:“之后,我国适时公布了全国非典型肺炎疫情,并于4月1日起,每天向世界卫生组织报告最新疫情)85WuJia武侠:“HowtopreventandcureSARSaccordingtolaw?”“防治非典如何依法办事?”,RenminRibao,April23,2003.
20
Onbasis of theApril 3rd press conferencementioned above, theRenminRibao
made a story headlined “The central government focus on SARS in Taiwan.” Zhang
Wenkang started out saying that “our fellow countrymen on Taiwan are our blood
brothers,andbloodisthickerthanwater.”86Hethenwentontorefuteallegationsraised
bytheTaiwanesegovernmentthatTaiwanhadbeenignoredbyChina,andsaid“itdoes
notexistanyso‐calledproblemsthathinderTaiwanfromobtaininginformationonthe
preventionandtreatmentofSARS.”87ZhangWenkangwarnedTaiwan,sayingthat:
WehopetheTaiwanesegovernmentofficialsdonotagaincomplicatemattersorspread
wordswith ulteriormotives that do not have a grounding and that are irresponsible,
evenraise thesignofso‐called ‘humanrights’, seekingtousetheepidemicsituation in
their ballyhoo to try to squeeze into the WHO, where only sovereign states can be
members.88
In the weeks to come it was silent about Taiwan until April 24th when the WHO’s
representative in China was quoted saying that ”when it comes to the problem of
Taiwan, theWHO’s position is completely clear: Taiwan is a province of China.”89He
went on to say that Taiwan had fully adequate channels throughwhich to obtain the
informationoftheWHO.TherepresentativehadparticipatedinaseminaraboutSARS
for”bothsidesoftheTaiwanstrait”,andthejournalistunderlinedthataccordingtothe
rulesoftheUN,onlysovereignstatescanbecomemembersoftheWHOorparticipate
in”otheractivities.”90
TheRenminRibaoregularlypaidattentiontohowtheforeignpresscoveredthe
eventsinChina.OnApril17th,thepaperprintedacommentarywrittenbyRenGuoping
headlined ”Speculations with evil intensions do not help the situation.”91Here, the
authorquotedanarticleinTheWallStreetJournal(WSJ)called”IsolatingChina,”andhe
accusedthepaperandothers,amongthem”someGuangdongpapers,”ofhaving”lacked
thegoodintentionsandspecialistattitudeneeded,andpoliticisedtheprobleminorder
86BaiJianfeng白剑峰:“ThecentralgovernmentfocusonSARSinTaiwan”“中央政府关注台湾非典型肺炎”RenminRibao,April4,2003.(Originaltext:“台湾同胞是骨肉兄弟,血浓于水”)87Ibid.(Originaltext:“不存在所谓台湾无法获得非典型肺炎预防治疗信息的问题”)88Ibid.(Originaltext:“我们希望台湾当局领导人不要再节外生枝,别有用心地散布一些没有根据、不负责任的说法,甚至打着所谓人权的幌子,图谋以非典型肺炎疫情为由,为台挤入只有主权国家才能参加的世界卫生组织造势”)89LiaoLei廖雷,ZhangYong张勇:“ArepresentativefromtheWHOsaystheWHO'sstandontheTaiwanproblemiscompletelyclear”“世卫组织代表说,世卫组织在台湾问题上的立场一直是明确的”,RenminRibao,April24,2003.(Originaltext:“在台湾问题上,世界卫生组织的立场一直很明确:台湾是中国的一个省”)90Ibid.91RenGuoping任国平:“Speculationswithevilintentionsdonothelpthesituation”“恶意炒作于事无补”,RenminRibao,April17,2003.
21
to display its own political correctness.”92TheWSJwas quoted: ”With regards to this
illness,thatemergedinSouthernChina,therearestilltodaymanyunknownaspects.At
the same time, we do not know how to cure it.”93The Renmin Ribao commentator
underlined that it was as wrong and “unscientific” to say that SARS had emerged in
Guangdong as itwouldbe to say thatAIDS emerged in theUSA just because the first
knowncasesofthediseasewerefoundthere.Hefurtherpointedtothecontradictionin
theWSJ’sargumentinthattheysaidmanythingswerestillnotknownandatthesame
timeclaimedtoknowthatChinawasthesourceoftheoutbreak.Theauthorthendenied
the accusation that China had not shared sufficient information with the WHO by
remindingthatWHOspecialistshadbeeninvitedtoChinathreetimesandthattheyhad
praisedtheworkdone.Thecommentatorwentonsaying
If one follows an attitude of problem solving, one of a scientific, specialist spirit and
directsviewpointsandproposalstowardsChina,thenChinawarmlywelcomesthat.But
ifoneembracessomeothermotivesandpoliticisestheproblem,thenpeoplecannottake
it.AsforsomemediawhosaythatSARSisChina’s‘biologicalweapon’,thatisevenmore
awaytodemoniseChina,andnotevenworthrefuting.94
We see here how the paper used the rhetoric of having been “wronged” by foreign
agentswithulteriormotivesofharmingChina.Even though foreignmediawereoften
accused of being speculative and sensational, signs of support for China in foreign
paperswere also quotedwith a strong sense of authority. One examplewas a report
abouthowmayorofNewYork,MichaelBloomberg,andotherpoliticalfiguresacrossthe
USandCanadahadvisitedtheircities’Chinatownsto”eatdeliciousfood,”talktoChinese
people and show support for them. On April 18th, the Renmin Ribao referred to a
Chinese language New York paper’s interview with Bloomberg where he had stated
that”ThesayingthatSARShasspreadinChinatownissimplyarumour.Therearesome
peoplethatonpurposewanttoharmChinatown.”95
In addition to these quotations from foreign media, the Renmin Ribao often
printedminutesfrompressconferencesattheMinistryofForeignAffairswhereforeign
journalistssometimeswouldaskcriticalquestions.Inallthesesourcesmadeup5,4per
92Ibid.(Originaltext:(“缺乏应有的善意与专业态度,将问题泛政治化,以显示自己的“政治正确”)93Ibid.(Originaltext:“关于这种始发于中国南部的疾病,目前还有许多神秘之处,而且没有治愈的办法”)94Ibid.(Originaltext:“如果本着解决问题的态度,以科学的、专业的精神向中国提出意见和建议,中国是非常欢迎的。但如果抱着什么其他目的,将问题泛政治化,就让人难以接受。至于有的媒体说非典型肺炎是“中国的细菌武器”,那更是“妖魔化”中国的手段,不值一驳”)95XinhuainRenminRibao:“MayorsofthreeAmericancitieswenttheir“Chinatown’s”todine”“美三城市市长到“唐人街”用餐”,April18,2003.(Originaltext:“有关“非典”在华埠蔓延的说法纯属谣言,是有人恶意中伤华埠”)
22
centofthepaper’sSARScoverage,butbecausethequestionswereusuallybeingrefuted
resolutely or turned around and used to promote patriotic sentiments, they had a
limitedinfluenceintheirownrightonthediscourse.
HowtocureSARS–publichealtheducationIwillnow to lookathow theRenminRibaoreportedabout thenatureof thedisease,
howtoprotectoneselffromitandhowtocureit.
InGuangdong,localhealthauthorities,thelocalappointedexpertgroupandthe
localCDCexpressedseveraltimesthattheyhadfoundan”effective”waytopreventand
cure the illness. OnApril 7th, the paper printed information from theMOHunder the
headline ”How to treat atypical pneumonia – the Ministry of Health announces
recommendedmethod.”96
I found that the Renmin Ribao journalists seldom used their personal
observationswhen reporting. But in a rare story printed onApril 14th, one journalist
madeanattempt thatwentbeyondofficial reports to findoutwhatexactly theSARS‐
treatment consisted of. He visited a doctor after having talked to a newly recovered
patientonhiswayhomefromthehospital.Thedoctorcalledthemethodhehadused
curingthepatienta”comprehensive”(zonghexing综合性)one,wherehehad
made use of virus resistant, anti‐Chlamydia drugs, medicaments to strengthen the
immune system, antibiotics toprotect against secondary infections and anon‐invasive
breathingmachinetohelphimthroughmorethan10daysofrespiratorydistress.97
OnApril18th, the followersof traditionalChinesemedicine(TCM)gotawarning from
twoexpertswhosaidthatabuseofTCMcouldcausemoreharmthangood.Theythen
gaveadviceofatypeofmedicinethatcouldbenefitabroadgroupofpeople,andatthe
endofthearticlethereaderscouldlearnindetailhowtopreparethemedicine.98
In an article printed on April 19th, the readers got a group of experts’ advice,
labelled ”the Four diligent and the three good” (siqin sanhao四勤三好.) They urged
96BaiJianFeng白剑峰:“Howtotreatatypicalpneumonia–theMinistryofHealthannouncesrecommendedmethod”“非典型肺炎如何治疗卫生部公布推荐方案”,RenminRibao,April7,2003.97ZongHuanping宗焕平,WangSihai王思海:“Morethan200sickenedhasrecoveredandlefthospitalinBeijingandHongKong”“京港二百多位“非典”患者康复出院”,RenminRibao,April14,2003.(Original:“运用了抗病毒、抗衣原体和提高免疫力的药物,并用抗生素防止继发感染,用无创呼吸机帮他度过了呼吸窘迫的10多天时间”)98YuShujun王淑军:“SpecialistsbriefaboutthepreventingandcuringofSARS–don’tmisuseChinesemedicine,boilinaproperway”“专家提示预防非典—中药勿滥服煎服应得法”,RenminRibao,April18,2003.
23
peopletomakeuseofsimplemethodstoavoidgettinginfectedorspreadingthedisease;
amongotherthingstheyexplainedindetailhowoneshouldwashone’shands99.
On the organizational level, one could on April 22nd read an article about how
a ”model” neighbourhood in Guangzhou, with a concentrated population and several
SARS cases, had overcome fear by providing tight follow up by doctors and by
distributionofinformationinformofleafletsaswellascommunitymeetings100.
Finally, on April 23rd, a lengthy article written by the director of Beijing
UniversityofPublicHealth,HuYonghua,putSARS into thewiderhistorical contextof
infectious diseases. He reminded about the breakthroughs of scientists the last 100
yearsinmakingvaccinationsandeliminatingmanyofthosediseases.Withanoptimistic
flavour, underlining his faith in the ever more rapid scientific progress, he carefully
explainedhowtofightadiseasebyusingSARSasanexample.101
The format of theRenminRibao seemed suitable for broad ”public education,”
andIregularlyfoundarticleswithaquestionasaheadline,suchas”WhydosomeSARS
patients die at once, while most people completely recover?”102 In these articles,
specialists gave answers without interruption from a journalist or efforts to make it
tabloid.
Leaningonscience,butnoroomfor”individualacts”FindingthesourceofSARSwasearlydeclaredtobeofgreat importance,andonApril
14th, the Renmin Ribao quoted aMOH report that demanded a ”strengthening of the
coordinationofresearchonthesourceofatypicalpneumonia.”103Tofacilitatethis, the
ministry had established a coordination group which scientists should report their
findings to daily. It was underlined, however, that only authorised researchers were
allowedtoreportandthatall informationthatdidnotcomefromtheMOHweretobe
considered”individualacts”(gerenxingwei个人行为.)104
99XuJinzhang胥金章,HuangXianbin黄献斌:“ToguardagainstSARSoneshouldfollowthe“fourdiligent”“防范非典要做到“四勤三好””,RenminRibao,April19,2003.100LiuTaishan刘泰山,MaoHaowen冒浩文:“HowtoeffectivelypreventSARSinthecommunity?”“社区怎样有效防非典?”,RenminRibao,April22,2003.101HuYonghua胡永华:“Humanityhavethepowertoconquerallkindsofinfectiousdiseases”“人类有能力征服各种传染病”,RenminRibao,April23,2003.102ZhuYu朱玉,ZhangJingyong张景勇:“WhydosomeSARSpatientsdieatonce,whilemostcompletelyrecover?”“为何有的非典患者很快死亡而大多数人能痊愈?”,RenminRibao,April20,2003.103MinistryofHealthinRenminRibao:“TheMinistryofHealthrequestastrengtheningoftheorganisingoftheresearchworktofindthecauseofSARS,scientistsfromaroundtheworldisintensifyingitsresearchonthecauseofSARS”“卫生部要求加强非典型肺炎病原学研究的管理,世界各国科学家正加紧研究非典型肺炎的病原”,April14,2003.104Ibid.
24
Itwas interesting to see how thewords “science” (kexue科学) and “scientific”
(kexuede科学的, kexuehua科学化) were used extensively, both by journalists and
political leaders,during thisperiod. Scienceobviouslyplayedan important role in the
handlingofSARS,butwhenthewordwasusedasanadjectiveoradverb,themeaningof
it became less clear, and it started tomove into the ideological‐political realm of the
ideograph.“FacingSARS,weshouldhaveascientific,activeattitude,”105acommentary
printed onApril 11th started out, before the authorwent on to calmdownpeople by
sayingthatitwasnormaltocatchthefluinspringtimeandthatitwasthereforenoneed
toworryifonecaughtacold.Inanotherarticle,onApril24th,acommentatorsaid,after
havingemphasisedhowSARSafterallaffectveryfewpeople:
Seen in the light of the present situation, wemust scientifically and rationally handle
SARS byminding personal health care, improve immunity and do all in our power to
eliminatethisinfectiousdiseaseassoonaspossible.106
Thetopleadersoftensaidthatthepeopleandgovernmentalikeshould“relyonscience”
(yikaokexue依靠科学)andthat if theydidtherewasnoneedtobeafraid.Ascientific
attitude seemed to be something that everyone could have and to be the bestway to
meet the challenges and avoid chaos. It seemed to mean not merely the opposite of
“superstition”(mixin迷信,)butratherallkindsofrumoursthatdidnothaveanofficial
stamp. An example might be how the claim in some foreign papers that SARS had
originatedinGuangdongwasblownoffas“unscientific”(bukexuede不科学的.)
Thehealthworkersandthecadres–modelworkersandmilitaryreferencesMost of the news articles in theRenminRibaowerewritten in a somewhat technical
languagewith a bureaucratic tone. I found, however, that the discourse of the health
workersoftencameclosetotraditionalCommunistpropaganda.
ThehealthworkersrelativelyearlybecamesymbolsofthestruggleagainstSARS
andtheywereportrayedasbraveheroesor”angelsdressedinwhite”(baiyitianshi白衣
天使.) The focuswas on their highwork ethic, how they never rested and how they
madeexcusestotheircolleagueswhenfallingill,asmanydid.Theywere”selflessand
fearless” (wusiwuwei无私无畏) and also portrayed as verymodestwhen confronted
105WangShujun王淑军:“NoneedtobeafraidofSARSaslongasoneproperlypreventsandtreats”“非典型肺炎做好防治不足惧”,RenminRibao,April4th,2003.(Originaltext:“面对非典型肺炎,我们应该有一个科学的、积极的态度”)106LuoChunhua罗春华:“SARSwillbesubduedsomeday”“降服非典会有时”,RenminRibao,April24,2003.(Originaltext:“在目前形势下,我们需要科学地、理性地对待“非典”,做好自身的卫生保健工作,提高免疫力,为尽早消灭这一传染病而尽力”)
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withtheseadjectives.Doctorsandnurseswereeagerto”signupforbattle”(qingzhan
请战,)fightingonthe”battlefield”(zhanchang战场)towardsthe“enemy”(diren敌人)
of SARS, and the ultimate goalwas ”victory” (zhan sheng战胜,) The Party committee
secretaryattheMOH’sSino‐Japanesefriendshiphospitaldescribedhisroleasfollowing:
Torescuethedyingandsupport thewounded isadoctor’sboundduty, it is just likea
solider going towar. As long as there is one single patient that is still not saved from
danger,Icannotleavethefrontline.107
Cadres were often portrayed as fighting alongside the health workers, and at the
hospitalmentioned above theywere carrying out a party‐activitywhen the journalist
visited,wherepartymemberswoulddosomethingpracticaltoshowtheirloyaltyto”the
Partyandthepeople.”SeveralnursesworeredbadgeswithCPClogosontheiruniforms.
Thedirectorofthehospitalsaidthatmanynurseshadsentapplicationstobecomeparty
membersduringtheSARSstruggle.Thecadreswereportrayedas”takingtheleadand
makinggoodexamples”(shuaixianchuifan率先垂范)throughtheirwork.108Theheadof
thehospitalendedthisarticle,saying”Ifyoucomparethebattleofthewhitesoldiersto
aforcefulandrousedsymphony,theneachpartymemberprovidesastrongvoice.”109
Theoverlappingrolesof thehealthworkersand thecadresand theuseofwar
metaphors about both groups connects them to theParty in away that talking about
theirgooddeedsgiveslegitimacyandhonourtotheParty.
Pricespeculation–greenlightforcritiqueMuchofthereportingintheRenminRibaointhisfirstphaseeitherhadapositiveand
optimistic flavour, urging people to lean on science and stay calm, or it raised sharp
critique that fed patriotic sentiments, as discussed above. A domestic group that the
paperdirectedcritique towards,however,was thepeoplewhospeculated inpricesof
theproductsrelatedtotheepidemicsituation.Coveringthesechallenges,thejournalists
alsocriticisedthesystemregulatingit.
GongWen,aRenminRibaocommentatoronthefieldofeconomics,wroteinan
articlethatinspiteofmeasurestakenbythegovernmentthelasttwoyearstocopewith
speculation, the problem was still serious, particularly in connection to SARS.
107BaiJianfeng白剑峰:“TheCommunistPartyisatforefront–afrontlinereportfromthepreventionandcuringofSARSworkattheSino‐JapaneseFriendshipHospital”“共产党员冲在最前面—来自中日友好医院防治非典一线的报告”,RenminRibao,April21,2003.(Originaltext:“救死扶伤是医生的天职,就像战士上了战场。只要还有一名患者没有脱离危险,我就不能离开前线)108Ibid.109Ibid.(Originaltext:“如果把白衣战士抗击非典型肺炎战役比喻成一部雄浑激昂的交响乐,那么,每一名共产党员都是乐章里的强音!”)
26
Consumers were worried and unsatisfied, she concluded. The commentator wrote
that ”these ‘black hearted’managers who destroy the order of themarket should be
punishedaccordingtolawandnotatallinasoftheartedway.”110
On April 23rd, the Renmin Ribao reported that the National Committee for
DevelopmentandReformwouldcarryoutaninspectiononpricesofproductsrelatedto
preventingandcuringSARS111.Thesameday,severaldepartmentsandbureausissueda
noticeurgingpeopletoreadtheinstructiononChinesemedicinecarefullyandtoavoid
buyingandconsumingitiftheproductdidnotcomewithaninstruction.Itwentonto
tellindetailwhataproperproductinstructionshouldcontain.Thenoticeread:
Lately, some elements operating outside the law have taken advantage of the label
‘preventingandcuringSARS’andproducedandsoldfakedrugs,swindledforthesakeof
theirownbenefitsandmisledtheconsumers.112
Itwas interestingtoseethat the fieldwherediscussionwasmostopen intheRenmin
Ribaowas that of violations against consumers. It seemed consumers as a group had
beenblessedwithsomedegreeofthesameprotectionasthebusinessleaders.
TheturningpointAsignalofchangeinthegovernmentsapproachtoSARSwasseenonApril19th,when
theGuangdongProvincemayorsaid inaworkingmeetingwith thegovernmentabout
SARS:”Inthestruggleagainsttheillnesswestillhavenotreachedacertainvictory.”113
This wording had a slight, but important change of flavour, and underlined the
seriousnessofthesituation.
In the Renmin Ribao's April 21st report from a press conference held the day
before,itbecameobviousthatsomethingserioushadhappenedwithintheParty.Itwas
GaoQiang, ViceMinister ofHealth,who led the conference. He started out delivering
new numbers from Beijing on SARS patients hospitalised, suspected to have been
infectedandthenumbersofdeadsofar.Thenumbersrepresentedabigjumpfromthe
lastreport,andGaoQiangwentstraightontoask:”whyisthedifferenceinnumbersso
110GongWen龚雯:“岂容借疫情发“黑心财”Howcanwetoleratethattheepidemicsituationisusedtomakemoneyinasinisterway”,RenminRibao,April18,2003.(Originaltext:“对破坏市场秩序的“黑心”经营者,依法处治,决不手软”)111ZhuJianhong朱剑红:“TheNationalCommitteeofDevelopmentandReformstartsaspecialinvestigationintopricesofmedicinesandrelatedproducts”“国家发展和改革委员会—开展非典药品和相关商品价格专项检查”,RenminRibao,April23,2003.112ZhangXiaosong张晓松:WhenbuyingandtakingChinesemedicine,oneshouldreadtheinstructionindetail–donotreadilyplacetrustin“miracledrugs”forpreventingSARS”“购买服用中药应细读说明书莫轻信预防非典“特效药”,RenminRibao,April23,2003.(Originaltext:最近,一些不法分子打着防治非典的招牌,制售假冒伪劣药品,行骗谋利,坑害消费者)113LiuTaishan刘泰山,MaoHaowen冒浩文:“Handlewithacoolhead,makepersistentefforts,fulfilassignedtasks,don’tshouldertooheavytasks ,GuangdongisinfullforcecarryingouttheSARSpreventionandcuringwork””沉着应对再接再厉不辱使命不负重托 广东全力以赴做好非典型肺炎防治工作”,RenminRibao,April19,2003.(Originaltext:“我们与疫病的斗争尚未取得决定性胜利”)
27
bigcomparedtojustsomedaysago?”Hepointedoutthreeanswers.Thefirstwasthat
therehadbeenasuddenoutbreakofanewillnessandthatitwasaprocesstodiagnose
the disease. Secondly, he explained that the systemof hospitals in Beijing,with some
hospitals belonging to the city or the county, some to the MOH and the Ministry of
EducationandsometotheMilitaryandthearmedpolice,114”lackseffectiveconnections
and do not have a unified leadership. They aremutually unable to communicate and
resources can not be integrated.”115The resultwas incorrect data, he concluded. As a
thirdpoint,headmittedthat theMOHhadnotbeensufficientlypreparedandthat the
system to prevent epidemics was weak. Further, they had failed to make a national
unifiedsystemofcollectingandreportinginformationaftertheoutbreak,thedemands
hadbeenunclearandtheguidancenotbeneficial.116
Inthefollowingsession,GaoQiangansweredjournalists,mostofthemforeign,in
amuchmoreopenmannerthanseeninthetwoproceedingpressconferences.Hedid
not merely make repetitions of what measures the government had taken, he also
pointeddirectlytotheweakpartsandtookresponsibilityforsomeofthem.Inhislast
addresshesaid:
IdonotsupportthesayingthatChinaisthesafestplaceonearthandthatyouforsure
willnot get SARS if you comehere.Butat the same time, Idonot support saying that
Chinaisaverydangerouscountryandthatpeoplemerelybycomingherewillgetill.117
AnewgenerationofleadersenterthestageEventhoughalreadyreportedbyXinhua,thesackingsoftheministerofhealthandthe
Beijing mayor was neither mentioned in the Renim Ribao’s notes from the press
conference nor in other articles the following two days. On April 24th, in an article
headlined “In themidst of crisis, union is strength – people of thewhole country are
resistingSARSinaconcertedeffort,”118onecouldreadthatthecentralgovernmenthad,
inordertohandletheproblemsinthepreventionandcuringworkofSARS,”Resolutely
adjustedthepostsofthecadreswiththemostimportantresponsibilityintheMinistry
114ThefirstcasesofSARSinBeijingwerediagnosedatamilitaryhospital,aninstitutionunderthesupervisorycontrolofthePLA,withitswell‐knowninstitutionalpreferenceforsecrecy,ratherthantheMOH(Thornton2009:35).115XinhuainRenminRibao:“TheStateCouncilpressofficeiscarryingoutapressconference–deputyministerofthestandingcommitteeoftheMinistryofHealth,GaoQiangetc.answersjournalist’saboutthesituationofpreventingandcuringSARS”“国务院新闻办公室举行新闻发布会卫生部常务副部长高强等就非典型肺炎防治情况答记者问”,April21,2003.(Originaltext:“这些医院彼此之间缺乏有效联系,也没有一个统一的领导,信息互不沟通,资源不能整合”)116Ibid.117Ibid.(Originaltext:“我不提倡讲“中国是世界上最安全的,你们来保证不会得SARS”这个话。但是我也同样不赞成说中国是一个很危险的国家,来到中国就可能得病”)118XinhuainRenminRibao:“Inthemidstofcrisis,unionisstrength–peopleofthewholecountryareresistingSARSinaconcertedeffort–anonspotreport”“危难中,我们众志成城—全国人民齐心协力抗击非典纪实”,April24,2003.
28
of Health and the Beijing municipality government.” 119 Such a silence among
commentatorsaboutthereshuffleinthetopleadershipdidnotattesttoastrongfocus
on government accountability by the Renmin Ribao, at least not in this first phase of
reporting.
In the above‐mentioned article,whichwaswritten in typical propaganda style,
thephrase ”newcentral leadershipgroup”wasused for the first time inmymaterial.
ThearticlecalledSARSa“test”(kaoyan考验)ofthenewleaders.Itwentontodescribe
howHuJintaohademergedatthefrontlineinGuangdongatthecriticalmomenttosee
thehealthworkersandpraisetheirwork.ItalsoremindedaboutWenJiabao’svisitsto
theCDC,BeijingYou'anHospital,BeijingNormalmiddleschoolandkindergartensinthe
capital.ItthenrecalledhowthenewStateCouncilalreadyhadcarriedoutthreespecial
meetingsonSARS,howithadresolutelyputSARSunderlegalregulation,howitmade
everydayreportstotheWHOandtothepublicand itsdecisiontoestablishanational
systemtohandlesuddenlyemergingpublichealthcases.
InmymaterialIfoundapictureofanewleadershipdeeplyconcernedaboutthe
situationandthepeople,withastrongsenseofresponsibilityandalonglistofchanges
thatneedtobemade.Itisworthconsideringthepositiveconsequencesthedeclaration
of a crisis may have had for the new leadership in its ambition to carry out
administrativereformandconsolidatingitspower.
NanfangZhoumoreportingonSARSTurningtolookathowtheNanfangZhoumocoveredtheeventsinthespringof2003,it
becomesclearthatitisquiteadifferentkindofpublication.Thestoryreachedthefront
pageonFebruary13th,onedayafterthefirstarticleintheRenminRibao,andthewhole
frontpageandthesecondpagewasspentonSARS.
AshortglimpseofaGuangzhouonalertThe front‐page article was headlined “Guangzhou is struggling against an unknown
virus,”120andhadasmanyas14different sources, frommobilephone firms toonline
stockmarket pages to pharmacy employees. In the story, the journalist had not only
interviewedmanypersonsandfoundmuchinformationfromdifferentsources,buthe
had also been to several places himself and observed the situation. For example, he
describedthesmellofdisinfectantintheneighbourhoodsofthecity,observedthelong119Ibid.(Originaltext:“果断对卫生部和北京市政府主要负责同志的职务作出调整”)120ChenMin陈海,JiangHua江华:“Guangzhouisstrugglingagainstanunknownvirus”“广州抗击不明病毒”,NanfangZhoumoFebruary13,2003.
29
linesinfrontofpharmacies(wherethedrugsbelievedtocurethefluwereeithersold
outorthepriceshadsoared)andnotedthatnursesandpatientsatthehospitalswere
wearingsurgicalmasks.121Thestorygavethereaderapictureofthesituationthatthe
Renmin Ribao never came close to provide. On the first page inside the paper, a
journalisthadinterviewedanexpertfromtheCDC.Here,astrongfocuswasputonlaws
regulatingsuddenpublichealthsituations,suchasdivisionofresponsibility,systemsof
reporting,isolationandclosingofschools122.Theexpertdidnotgivehisname,andmost
ofthesourcesinthestoriesthisdaywereanonymous.Iwillreturntotheimplicationsof
thisbelow.
HearsaytobefoughtwithinformationAtthebottomofthefrontpageofthisfirstpublicationcoveringSARS,oneofthepaper’s
journalist had written a commentary headlined “Fear stops with openness.”123 He
pointed at how it was wrong to blame people for spreading rumours in society
because”thecontentsofthisso‐calledhearsayisamatterofstayingalive,andtheright
tolifewasearlyonuniversallyacknowledgedasthemostfundamentalhumanright.”124
In the whole material of 220 articles from the Renmin Ribao, the concept of
“humanrights”wasonlyusedasanegativelyloadedwordinthedisputewithTaiwan.
“Human rights”wasnot apartof thediscourseabout SARS in theRenminRibao, and
whentheNanfangZhoumotalkedaboutit,itreferredtothenon‐controversial“rightto
life,”althoughitislinkedtotherighttoinformationinasomewhatsubtleway.
The commentary argued that people in the whole region had calmed down
duringoneeveningafter theyhad listenedto the informationaboutSARSgivenat the
press conferences of the Guangzhou City government and the Guangdong Province
HealthdepartmentonFebruary11th. Inthefeaturingnewsarticleonthefrontpage, it
was explained how rumours of a “deadly flu” had started to spread in Guangzhou
throughfriends,familyandtheInternetonFebruary8th.
LiketheRenminRibao,theNanfangZhoumocommentedonrumoursspreading
in society about SARS. But the discourses in the two papers differed fundamentally.
WhentheRenminRibaotalkedaboutrumours,itfocusedonthe“speculation”offoreign
media and governments or the “individual acts” of scientists, whereas the Nanfang121Ibid.122WuZhanguang吴展光:“InterviewwithanexpertatChineseCentreforDiseaseControlandPrevention–howtohandleahuge,suddenlyemergingpublichealthcrisis?”“国家疾病预防控制中心专家访谈重大突发公共卫生事件如何处理?”,NanfangZhoumo,February13,2003.123LiYiyan李一言:“Fearstopswithopenness”“恐慌止于公开”,NanfangZhoumo,February13,2003.124Ibid.(Originaltext:“因为这里所谓的谣言的内容攸关生命,而生命权早已成为举世公认的最基本的,最首要的人权”)
30
Zhoumomainly talked about regular people’s search for basic information on how to
protect themselves against the disease. This demonstrates the bottom‐up perspective
NanfangZhoumoissaidtorepresent.
NegotiatingtheroleofthemediaInthe“Fearstopswithopenness”commentary, the journalistmovedontodiscussthe
roleandmandateofthepresstopassonimportantinformationtoindividuals.Inlightof
the change in people’s lives before and after the press conference, he argued that
“peoplecannotbutcometotheconclusionthatitistimetocloselyexaminetheroleand
functionofthemedia.125”Heexplainedthespreadofrumoursascausedbythelackof
“theauthoritativevoiceofthemediaandthegovernment.”Hethenwentontoremindof
the history of media as an information channel between people and between the
government and the people. But, he said “for a long time, some places, some officials
have ignoredtherolethatmediahas insubstitutingthepeople inobtainingnecessary
information and in spreading it.” He argued that because these officials had been
stopping certain information frombeingpassedonaccording to certain “conventions”
(guanli惯例,)mediawereunabletocarryoutitsrole.
WeseeherehowtheNanfangZhoumowereusingtheopportunity toargue for
media’sroleandagencybyplacingitinadomestichistoricalcontext.Itdidnotdirectly
refertoa“professionalism”ideal,buttosomethingclosertoa“Confusianistintellectual”
ideal, asdescribed in thebackground chapter.Thekeywordwas “openness,” and the
authoractuallywentontoacknowledgetheGuangdongProvincegovernmentforhaving
providedinformationaboutthedisease“relativelytimely”andtherebycalmeddownthe
public.“Therealityprovesthatopennesshasnotonlynotledtochaos(tianxiadaluan
天下大乱,)ithasalsorapidlycalmeddowntheso‐calledrumours.”Thisformulationcan
be seen as a critique against Communist Party’s traditionalmedia strategy of holding
backinformationtoavoidpublicunrest.
AnonymoussourcesIn spite of their claim that more openness in information would fight hearsay, the
Nanfang Zhoumo used a lot of anonymous sources in their first stories about SARS.
Peoplefromthegovernment,hospitals,pharmaciesorothermediawerequotedwithout
beingnamed.Thisattestedbothtothejournalistsandtothepublic’sawarenessofthe
sensitivityofthesituation,butatthesametimeitrepresentedacredibilityproblemfor
125Ibid.
31
thepaper, as readershadnomeans tocheck thecorrectnessof itswritings. In sucha
situation,thepaperhadtorelyonpeoples’generaltrusttowardsit,butitalsobecame
vulnerabletoaccusationsofspreadingrumoursitself.
ThesilenceandtheturningpointAfteritsFebruary11thissue,theNanfangZhoumodidnotcoverSARSagain,exceptfrom
inasmallarticlediscussing its influenceon theeconomy,until twoandahalfmonths
later,intheApril24thissue.Thatday,thefrontpageandthefollowingfivepageswere
filledwithSARS‐reports. In the featuringarticleonthe frontpageheadlined“Whatdo
we leanon towinover SARS?”126the journalist calledApril 20th, theday itwasmade
public thatMinisterofHealth,ZhangWenkang,andtheBeijingMayor,MengXuenong,
hadbeenremovedfromtheirpartyposts,a ”turningpoint”(zhuanzhedian转折点.)At
thepressconferencethatday,thenewViceMinisterofHealth,GaoQiang,hadadmitted
that ”there really are some defect and weak links in the work of the Ministry of
Health.”127The journalist remarked thatmany commentators later pointed out that it
wasthe”firsttimeinmorethan10years”thatahighlevelleaderadmittedfaultsofthe
government’sworkatapressconference.”128
ThereporterarguedthatHuJintao’striptoGuangdong,wherehehadexpressed
the seriousness of the situation, and the resent instructions to be cautious, especially
when travelling to the Western regions, the countryside or epidemic regions, had
brought the truth closer to people. Hu Jintao had indeed been right when he at an
inspectionoftheBeijingMilitaryHospitalthesamedayhaddeclaredthatthekeything
todowas to ”fullymakeuseof the important effectsof science,” the journalistnoted.
Still,itwasdisappointingthatthescientistsneededsuchalongtimetofindtheculpritof
the disease and that they had held on to the Chlamydia theory for days even after
severalforeignresearcherspointedtotheCoronavirus129.Anunnamedresearcherfrom
Beijingpointedtoseveralthingsthatshouldbeimproved,firstofallbettercooperation
amongscientists.TheprocessguidedbytheWHOthathadeventuallyledtoidentifying
oftheviruswasthenexplainedinsomedetailbeforethejournalistreturnedtotheissue
of lawand tookpains toexplain the implicationsofSARShavingentered the laws for
regulatinginfectiousdiseases.Heunderlinedthatthetaskforthetimetocomewasto
126LiHujun李虎军,GuoGuangdong郭光东:“WhatdoweleanontowinoverSARS?”“我们靠什么战胜”非典”?”,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.127Ibid.128Ibid.129Ibid.
32
followtheselawsandsystems,thatwereactuallyestablishedmorethan10yearsago,as
wellastobuildandimprovethesystemofhandlingurgenthealthissues.
ThechallengeofthecountrysideandthevoiceofvillagepeopleInthesameApril24thissue,thepaper’sjournalistshadvisitedseveralplacesinChina,
including Shanghai andBeijing, theNorth‐easternNingxia Province, aswell as a poor
villageinShanxiProvince,toreportonthelocalsituationsthere.
ThearticlefromNingxiashedlightonthechallengetoavoidthespreadofSARS
tothecountryside.Ittoldthestoryofapassengerwhogotsickmorethantendaysafter
havingtakenatraintripfromBeijingtoInnerMongoliaandhowtheefforttomakesure
the disease did not spread further had been carried out, after much discussion and
uncertaintyabouttheconsequences,bypublishingthenumberofthecarrierthepatient
hadbeenoninlocalandnationalmedia.130
ThestoryfromShanxihadafocusoncommonpeople’sknowledgeaboutSARS.
Afterhavingdescribedthatnoneofthepeopleofallageswhostoodaroundhimwore
surgicalmasks and that there had been no smell of vinegar (used to disinfect) in the
village, the journalistnoted that thevillagepeopleactuallydidknowthesymptomsof
thedisease.131Oneofthevillagerspointedtotheskyandstressedthattheairwasmuch
cleanerthaninthecity.Thiswastheir“magicweapon”(fabao法宝,)hesaid,referringto
thebythencommonknowledgethatcirculationinairmighthelppreventthespreadof
SARS. Having learned about the conditions of health care in the village, however, the
journalistconcluded that itwas their “onlymagicweapon.”Thenearesthealthstation
was a 40‐minute bike ride away, andwith an average annual salary of 300 yuan, the
villagersdidnothavemoney tobuyherbalmedicineorsurgicalmasks,agovernment
officialinformed.Afterhavingexplainedtheshortcomingsinthemedicalfacilitiesonthe
countryside,wheretherewasnotasinglebreathingmachineandisolationclotheshad
notyetarrived,theheadoftheHealthOfficeinthecountyconcludedthattheefforthad
betterbefocusedonavoidingascenariowhereSARSspreadtohiscounty.
As in the first issue, itwashighlighted inmanyof thearticles thateven though
thesituationhadproventobeworsethanfirstreported,peoplewerecalmeddownby
moreaccurateinformation.IntheexamplefromNingxia,anofficialfromthelocalhealth
departmentsaid:
130LuRong卢嵘,DuJunxiao杜峻晓:“Ningxiaistryingtoblock“SARS””“宁夏追堵”非典””,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.131WuZhanguang吴展光,ZhengYigong(ShanxiFinancialDaily)郑亦工(山西经济日报记者):“XingcountyinShanxi–arecordfromapoorcounty’sSARSstruggle”“山西兴县一个贫困县的抗非典纪录”,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.
33
Theeffectsprovethatreportingthecasedidnotleadtounnecessaryfear,butquitethe
opposite.Knowingthesituation,peoplecouldunderstandthesenseofresponsibilityof
thegovernment.132
Atthesametime,thereportsfromthecountrysideshowedasituationofgreatconcern
anddrewupthe“worstcasescenario”itwouldbeifSARSgotoutofhandandspreadto
poor areas. Common people made up 31,5 per cent of the sources in the Nanfang
Zhoumo’scoverageofSARS,makingthemasignificantpartofthediscourse.
The“atypical”caseofHaichengDuringthelongperiodofsilencebetweenmid‐FebruaryandthebeginningofApril,the
onlymention of SARS came in the issue preceding the onewhere the epidemic once
againreachedthefrontpages.
In thepaper’s commentary section, onApril 17th, a referencewas interestingly
madetoSARSinadifferentcaseundertheheadline”The‘atypicalcase’ofHaicheng.”133
Atthispoint,thetwoChinesecharactersthatmakeupthewordatypical(feidian非典)
had alreadybecome the abbreviation for SARS. In this commentary, the author told a
storyfromthecityofHaicheng,where2500schoolchildrenhadbeenhospitalizedafter
drinkingasoymilkproductservedattheschoolcanteen.
The author explained how the city government had tried to stop families from
travellingtoothercitiestogotohospitalsbypatrollingatthetrainstationandhowthey
hadtriedtohinderparentsfromtalkingtojournalistsbysendinganoticethatsaid,”If
youcanavoid,doso.”134As in thecaseofSARS, the localgovernmenthadhesitatedto
reportthecasetohighergovernmentlevels.Onlyaftermediainothercitieslearnedofit
from families seeking help at their hospitals, had the central government received
knowledgeaboutthesituation.
Attheendofhisstory,theauthorplayedwiththeword”atypical”tocriticizethe
local government: ”One can say that this is some localities’ typicalmethod to handle
similar atypical cases,”he saidwith reference tohow the local governmenthadmade
pains toavoid thatmediaorhighergovernment levelsgot toknowabout thescandal.
Finally, the author concluded that if the aim of the governmentwas to ”reassure the
132LuRong卢嵘,DuJunxiao杜峻晓:“Ningxiaistryingtoblock“SARS””“宁夏追堵”非典””,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.(Originaltext:“实际效果证明,通告没有引起不必要的恐慌,老百姓反而从中意识到了政府的责任感”)133LiuHongbo刘洪波:“The“atypical”caseofHaicheng”“海城的”非典型事件””,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.134Ibid.
34
public” (andingrenxin安定人心,)thismethodof”indifference”(anzhiruosu安之若素)
wasnotsuitable.”Whatkindofhumanitarianism(rendaozhuyi人道主义)isthat?”135
This article is an exampleofhow theNanfangZhoumoused clevermethods to
avoid censorship by talking between the lines. Because of the obvious similarities
betweentheHaichengcaseandtheSARScoverupandtheuseoftheword“feidian”,the
commentaryactuallydidfunctionasacritiqueagainstthesystemaswellasagainstthe
government’ssecrecyaboutSARS.
ThetaintedmilkscandalintheRenminRibaoFiveyearsafter the lastSARSpatienthad recovered in June2003, thealarm lamps in
Beijingonceagainstartedblinking–alittletoolate.Thistime,thecentralgovernment
wasinformedbythegovernmentofNewZealandthatbabieshadfallenillfromdrinking
ababymilkformulaproducedbytheChineseownedcompanySanlu.TheNewZealand
companyFonterra,thathada43percentstakeinSanlu,hadalerteditsChinesepartner
onAugust2nd,butitsrequestforanofficialrecallhadbeenrefused.Fonterrathenasked
NewZealandtotalkdirectlytoBeijing,whichitdidthreedayslater.
AclearconnectionThe Renmin Ribao published its first report about the Sanlu‐case on September 12th,
2008. The storywas headlined ”Infants in Gansu have contracted kidney stones after
drinkingbabymilkpowderformula–theMinistryofHealthhighlysuspectmilkpowder
contamination‐SanluGroupiscallingbackapartoftheirmilkformulaproduct.”136The
shortarticle, inwhichtheMOHassuredthatmeasuresnowweretaken,wasplaced in
theeconomysectiononpage11.ThelocalhealthauthoritiesinShijiazhuangcity,where
Sanlu'sheadquarterwaslocated,saidthateachofthe59babiesthathadfallenill,there
amongonewhohaddied from the injuries, hadbeen fedwith the same type of baby
formulaproducedbySanlu.137
Thenextdayitwasreportedthatinstancesofkidneyfailureininfantshadalso
been found in other provinces. Sources in the Shijiazhuang government said that the
melaminehadbeenaddedtotherawmilkby”unlawfulelements”(bufafenzi不法分子)
and that theywere still in the process of investigatingwhether Sanlu itself alsowere
135Ibid.136CengHuafeng曾华锋,ZuoYa左娅:”InfantsinGansuhavecontractedkidneystonesafterdrinkingbabymilkpowderformula–theMinistryofHealthhighlysuspectmilkpowdercontamination‐SanluGroupiscallingbackapartoftheirmilkformulaproduct”“甘肃婴儿喝奶粉患结石,卫生部高度怀疑奶粉污染,三鹿公司召回部分奶粉”,RenminRibao,September12,2008.137Ibid.
35
guiltyofaddingthechemical138.Thatdayandthedaysthatfollowed,thenewsaboutthe
Sanlu‐caseweremovedtopage2underdomesticheadlines,andonSeptember13th,the
casewasclassifiedbytheStateCouncilashavingactivated”thehighestlevelofalarmfor
seriousnationalfoodsecuritycrisis.”139AnexpertgroupledbyGaoQiang140,theparty
secretaryoftheMOH,hadbeensetuptoinvestigatethecase.
ConsumerinformationInthisfirstphase,thepaperhadafocusonurgingparentstoreportiftheirchildshowed
symptomsofpoisoningandthatthefinancialgovernmentinstitutionswouldpayforthe
medicaltreatment.
OnSeptember17th,thefirstresultsoftheinspectionswerepublishedintheform
oflists–onelistwiththenamesofthe87companiescleanoftaintedmilkandonewith
the 22 companieswhere inspectors had foundmelamine in products. The amount of
melamineineachproductwasalsopublished.Itwashighlightedthatnocontaminated
products had been found amongmilk provided to theOlympics and the Paralympics.
Expertsalsounderlinedthatmelaminewasanindustrialchemicalwithalowdegreeof
poisoninitandthatinfantshadtoconsumeitinlargequantitiesbeforetheywouldget
problemswiththeurinesystem.Mostof theaffectedcouldbecuredbydrinking large
amountsofwaterandurinateoften,unnamedexpertssaid.141
Asitbecameclearthatmoreandmorepeoplewereaffectedbythescandal,the
numberofsickenedinfantsbecameimportantandwasreporteddaily.
“Whathaveyoudonesofar?”and“Whoknewwhatwhen?”The question ofwhen the central government had been informed about the situation
was raised on a press conference in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 16th of
September,andtheRenminRibaoprintedthisquestionaswellasthespokespersonof
theministry,JiangYu's,answeronSeptember17th:
138XinhuainRenminRibao:“Itispreliminarilyassumedthatunlawfulelementshaveaddedmelaminetorawmilk–Beijing,HubeiandHunanetc.hasalsoreceivedreportsofinstances”“初步认定不法分子在原奶中添加三聚氰胺 北京湖北湖南等地也接到病例报告”,September13,2008.139WangJunping王君平:“SeverelyhandlingSanlubabyformulacase,theStatecouncilisactivatingthehighestlevelofresponseforlargenationalfoodsafetyaccidents,establishingurgentsmallleadershipgrouptodealwithitandgivesfreerescueandcuringforthesickened”“严肃处理三鹿婴幼儿奶粉事件国务院启动国家重大食品安全事故I级响应 成立应急处置领导小组对患病婴幼儿免费救治”,RenminRibao,September14,2008.140DuringSARS,GaoQiangwasalsoPartysecretaryoftheMinistryofHealthaswellasdeputyministerofitsstandingcommittee.Asmentionedabove,hesteppedintohandletheSARScrisisafterZhangWenkangwasremoved.141ZouYa左娅:“PublicationoftheresultsofaperiodicspecialinvestigationformelamineinSanlu'sinfantformula”“婴幼儿配方奶粉三聚氰胺专项检查阶段性检查结果公布”,RenminRibao,September17,2008.
36
AQSIQ142and theMinistryofCommerce received the reportabout theSanlubabymilk
formulaproblemfromtheNewZealandside.Beforethis,therelevantlocalgovernment
had already handled the situation concerned and implemented measures. After the
central government received the reports from the local governments, the emergency
systemwasimmediatelyactivatedandtherelatedarrangementsweremade.143
Here,thespokeswomanactuallyavoidedansweringthequestion;shejustsaidthatthe
centralgovernmenthadactedrightafteritgotthereportfromthelocalgovernment.
By printing the question of “who knewwhatwhen,” the paper relatively early
addressed the issue of responsibility, although the journalist did not challenge the
spokeswoman’s hazy answer. Typically, a Renmin Ribao journalist would ask a
governmentofficialquestionsthatgaveanopportunitytotellwhatthegovernmenthad
doneandwoulddoaswellastorepeattheinformationitneededtogivetothepublic.
Thatbeingsaid, inmymaterialfromthemilkscandalmorecriticalquestionsfromthe
journalistswereraisedthanduringSARS.
Representatives from the industry were given column space to put several
problems on the agenda. On September 21st, a journalist had interviewed dairy
companies and in one article he asked the director of the China Dairy Industry
Associationchairman,LiuChengguo:“So,whatdoyouthinkhavetobedonetopromote
apersistenthealthydevelopmentofthedairyindustry?”144
Critiqueofthefoodsafetysystem Coveringthemilkscandal,theRenminRibaohad7,1percentopinionarticles,compared
to 5,2 per cent during SARS. In these commentaries a wider range of topics were
discussedthanduringSARSandawiderrangeofopinionswereexpressed.
IntheSeptember17tharticle”Whowillrecallunsafeproducts?”145WangBixue,a
RenminRibaocommentatorwitha lawbackground,pointedout theshortcomingsshe
hadfoundinanewregulationdraftonfoodsafety.Shepointedtoseveralloopholesin
the draft that left the responsibility to discover unsafe products to producers and
businessmanagers and for recalling them to the producers. She askedwhether these
regulationswouldbeeffective, relyingsolelyon theamountofself‐regulationof these142GeneralAdministrationofQualitySupervision,InspectionandQuarantineofthePeople'sRepublicofChina.143RenminRibao:“ThespokespersonoftheMinistryofForeignAffairsisansweringjournalist’squestionsabouttheSanlucase”“就三鹿奶粉有关问题 外交部发言人答记者问”,September17,2008.(Originaltext:“中国国家质检总局和商务部分别接到新西兰方面有关三鹿奶粉问题的通报。在此之前,中国有关地方政府已掌握了有关情况并采取措施。中国中央政府在接到地方政府通报后,
立即启动应急机制并作了相关部署”.144FengHua冯华:“Safemilkneedstobeprotectedsystematically–interviewwithLiuChengguo,directorofChinaDairyIndustryAssociation”“放心奶需要机制保障—访中国奶业协会理事长刘成果”. (Original text:那么您认为怎样才能促进奶业的持续健康发展?)145WangBixue王比学:“Whowillrecallunsafeproducts”“谁来召回不安全食品”,RenminRibao,September17,2008.
37
two.Afterall,arecallwouldbe”ablowbothtotheproducerandtheproduct’sname,”
shesaid.Shefurtherpointedoutthatitwasnoopeningforuseofcoercionagainstthose
whoneglected theirresponsibilities.Herconclusionwas that itmustbemadeclear in
law that whoever discovered unsafe products had to report it to the regulating
governmentorgans,sothattheycouldsolveitaccordingtolawandorderarecall.
Thenextday,areportfromanexecutivemeetingintheStateCouncilledbyWen
JiabaoonSeptember17thshowedthatthegovernmentalsohadcritiquetooffer:
Itisofthemeeting’sopinionthattheSanlubabymilkformulacasereflectsachaoticmilk
product market, where the supervision and control systems have loopholes and the
supervisionandcontrolworkisweak.Asincerelessonmustbedrawnfromthis.Withan
attitudeofhigh levelof responsibility towards thepeople, thehandlingof the incident
mustbedoneinagoodmanner,theinspectionandmonitoringsystemmustbeperfected
andthesupervisingandcontrolworkmustbestrengthened.146
Afterhavinglinedouthowtocleanupthemarket,themeetingunderlinedtheneedto
encourageproducersofcleanmilktocontinuetheirproductioninordertomakesureit
wouldbeenoughbabyformulaonthemarket.Italsoemphasisedthatthedairyfarmers
affectedmustgetsomesupport.Lastly, theneedtodiscover thereasonbehindandto
punishtheguiltywasunderscored.147
Intheabove‐mentionedinterviewwithLiuChengguo,directoroftheChinaDairy
IndustryAssociation,hecamewithspecificadvicetotheindustryandthegovernment.
His focuswasontherootsof theunstableeconomyin thedairy industry, like the fact
thatfarmersandthefinalproducershadfewmutualinterests,theneedforathirdparty
supervisingorganand fora fund tohelp farmers,whomhepointedoutwas themost
vulnerablegroupinthelongproductionchain.148
Commentator Su Xianlong on September 23rd raised a question that would
become the focus of much debate, namely that of the rationale behind the ”National
Inspection Exemption products” (guojiamianjian国家免检) and the ”Famous Chinese
Brand products” (zhongguo mingpai中国名牌), both quality stamps granted by the
AQSIQ.Afterhavingarguedthat inanenvironmentof fiercecompetitiontherewasno
146XinhuainRenminRibao:“WenJiabaoleadsanexecutivemeetingattheStateCouncil,decidestofullymonitordairyproducts,andreorganisethedairyindustry”“温家宝主持召开国务院常务会议,决定全面检查奶制品,整顿奶制品行业”,September18,2008.(Originaltext:“会议认为,三鹿牌婴幼儿奶粉事件的发生,反映出奶制品市场混乱,监管机制存在漏洞,监管工作不力,必须认真吸取教训,以对人民高度负责的态度,做好事故处理,完善检验监督体制,加强监管工作)147Ibid.148FengHua冯华:“Safemilkneedstobeprotectedsystematically–interviewwithLiuChengguo,directorofChinaDairyIndustryAssociation”“放心奶需要机制保障—访中国奶业协会理事长刘成果”.RenminRibao,September21,2008.
38
roomfor”NationalInspectionExemptionproducts”,hesaidthat”Infact, thegoodand
badqualityofproductsintheendcanonlybejudgedbytheconsumers.Noproductcan
restonbeingchosenbyanadministrativeorganoritsagents.”149Hewentontosaythat
thecurrentsituation,whereindigenousbrandsarepromotedwithoutsufficientcontrol,
not only was a disadvantage for the industry and people, but also for government
credibility.
The next day yet another commentator said that the “National Inspection
Exemptionproducts”systemdidnotsuitthecurrentsituationinChina:
Theproblemisthatundertheconditionofbothaprofit‐seekingprincipleandlackofa
construction for social trustworthiness, the corporation’s self‐discipline is usually
uncertain.150
Next,he listedup theproblemsconnected to changing the system, andhis conclusion
was that the new ”Food safety law” waiting for the NPC to approve it was a huge
challenge,butalsoanopportunitytoimprovelegislation.
CriminaltrialsandgovernmentaccountabilityOnSeptember17th, inanarticleheadlined”Hebei–theresponsiblepeopleinvolvedin
the Sanlu baby milk formula case is being handled according to Party protocol,” the
paper told of a number of local leaderswhomhad been removed from their posts in
government and in the Party. Without focusing much on it, they informed that Tian
Wenhua had been taken off her post as party secretary at Sanlu and that she also,
according to the paper’s knowledge, had been taken off her post as chairwoman and
generalmanager of the company.151The criminal cases soon became the focus of the
reporting, and the Hebei public security office reported about the developments. On
September 18th, we learned that Tian Wenhua had been detained after the criminal
procedurelaw,152andonSeptember19ththeRenminRibaoreportedthat18peoplehad
been arrested suspected of involvement in the case153. On September 23rd, the paper
149SuXianlong苏显龙:“AfterthecancellationoftheselectionofChinaFamousBrand”“名牌评选取消之后”,RenminRibao,September23,2008.(Originaltext:”事实上,商品质量的优劣,最终只能由消费者说了算,没有哪个产品的品牌是靠行政机构或其所属的中介组织人为评选出来的”)150ShiGuosheng石国胜:“Howtoinspectwhennot“exemptedfrominspection””“不“免检”如何检?”,RenminRibao,September24,2008.(Originaltext:问题是,在市场趋利性原则和社会诚信体系尚未建立的情况下,企业的自觉往往靠不住)151LuoGuojun骆国骏:“Hebei–theresponsiblefortheSanlucasearedealtwithinaccordingtoPartyprotocol”“河北–“三鹿奶粉事故”有关责任人受到组织处理”,RenminRibao,September17,2008.152WangFangjie王方杰:“SanluGroup’schairwomanandgeneralmanager,TianWenhua,isputundercriminaldetention”“三鹿集团原董事长总经理田文华被刑事拘留”,RenminRibao,September18,2008.153PengBo彭波:“Another12criminalsuspectsinHebeiarecaught”“河北又有十二名犯罪嫌疑人落网”,RenminRibao,September19,2008.
39
reported that the responsible persons from Shijiazhuang party committee and
governmentwerenowcriminalsuspects.
In a commentary printed on September 24th, headlined ”Respect the popular
will’s(minyi民意)requestforaccountability(wenze问责,)”154theproblemwithlackof
accountability of high officials was raised by the journalist Wu Yan. ”Now, in the
sweeping storm of demanding accountability, the public feel at ease,”155he said,with
referencebothtothemilkscandalandtoamudslideinShanxiearlierthatmonth,where
ZhangWenkang,whohadtostepdownasMinisterofHealthinthefirstperiodofSARS
becauseofhisbadperformance,onceagainhadtostepdownfromhispost‐thistimeas
mayorofShanxi.HisresignationduringSARSwasnotmentionedintheRenminRibao.
Thereporterarguedthattherecentinvestigationsandprosecutionsofofficialsat
alllevelsmostlywasareminderthatifonedidnot
carryoutatransparentadministration,openuptothepublicandworkaccordingtolaw,
if there is no strong and effective external supervision, or if the public does not
participateinformingsocialpressureandforce,butifonemerelyletsomeofficialstread
onthinice,letsomeindustriesbecome‘highriskindustries,’thenIamafraidatragedyis
hardtoavoid.156
Finally,thecommentatorconcludedthatifonetook
onestepfurtherandturnedthe”requestforaccountability”intoasystem,usingthisasa
fundamentalstrategyforpreventing largescalesafetycases, thatwouldtrulybetoput
peoplefirstandresolutelyimplementtheconceptofscientificdevelopment.157
OnOctober1st,aRenminRibaojournalisthadinterviewedthedeputysecretary‐general
andgovernmentspokesmanofShijiazhuang.Heasked: ”As the localgovernment,why
didyoudelaythereportingof thiscase?”158Therepresentativestartedoutsayingthat
hefeltdeeplyguiltyandthatheprofoundlyapologizedtothechildrenandtheirfamilies.
He then explained how Sanlu had contacted Shijiazhuang government on August 2nd,
urgingthem
154WuYan吴焰:“Respectthepopularwill’srequestforaccountability”“尊重民意的问责“,RenminRibao,September24,2008.155Ibid.(Originaltext:“现在,在席卷而来的问责风暴中,公众感到了踏实”)156Ibid.(Originaltext:“如果做不到政务透明、公开,做不到依法行政作为,如果没有坚强有力的外部监督,没有公众的参与以形成社会的压力与合力,仅仅让几位官员“如履薄冰”,让几个行业成为“高风险行业”,悲剧恐怕还是难以避免).157Ibid.(Originaltext:更进一步,当问责成为制度之后,对防止重大安全事故的治本之策,是真正做到以人为本,坚决贯彻科学发展观)158WangMinghao王明浩:“ThespokespersonofShijiazhuangCitygovernment–onwhytheSanlubabyformulacasewasdelayed”“石家庄市政府新闻发言人—三鹿奶粉事件为何迟报”,RenminRibao,October1,2008.(Originaltext:“作为当地政府,为什么对事件迟报?”)
40
first,toasktherelevantdepartmentsinthegovernmenttostrictlyinvestigatethequality
ofrawmilkandtoimplementlegalmeasuresagainsttheunlawfulelementsthatadded
the melamine and other things that may harm the quality. Secondly, we asked the
government to strengthen the management, control and coordination of the media,
create a favourable climate for the industry in their recall of problematic products in
ordertoavoidmediahypeandspeculationsaboutthecase,thatcouldcreateastringof
negativeimpactonsociety.159
Wang Jiangguo said that itwas a lack of ”sensitivity” (minganxing敏感性) of the city
governmentandtheirinabilitytoraisetheproblemtoanoveralllevelthatmadethem
wait until September 9th before they reported the situation to the Hebei province
government. He admitted that their trust in Sanlu had been too high and that they
shouldhavequestionedtheircredibility.Inthisarticle,thejournalistwastrulycritical,
somethingthatalsoshowedinhiscommentswhereheputweightonthefactsaboutthe
scandal that were unfavourable to the Shijiazhuang government. Here, the very
important structural problem of tight relations between local governments and
businesseswasquitedirectlytouchedupon.
TheonlinepublicIntheabove‐discussedarticle,whentalkingabouthowthe“stormofaccountability”had
leftthepublicatease,theauthorreferredtoInternetforumswhenhewrote
Whenrespectwasgiventothepopularwill’srequestforaccountability,(thegovernment)
got a positive response. By leaving comments on the Internet and othermethods, the
publicexpressedthisapproachaswelcomeandgratifying.Atouchingscenarioofmutual
understandingandsupportalsoemerged.160
InthisfirstreferenceintheRenminRibaotothenetizensasagroup,weseehowthey
werediscussedas“thepublic”andhowthetoneofthelanguagewassimilartothatof
thepropagandafoundduringSARS.ThepostingsontheInternetwereusedtoexpress
unity,harmonyandsupportforthegovernment’shandlingofthesituation.
Wenvisits”ordinarypeople”–theonlyherointhestoryOnSeptember22nd,theRenminRibaoreportedfrompremierWenJiabao'sinspectionat
ahospital,hisvisittoamarketandtoaresidencyareainBeijing.
159Ibid.(Originaltext:“一是请政府有关职能部门严查原料奶质量,对投放三聚氰胺等有害物质的犯罪分子采取法律措施;二是请政府加强媒体的管控和协调,给企业召回存在问题产品创造一个良好环境,避免炒作此事给社会造成一系列的负面影响”)160WuYan吴焰:“Respectthepopularwill’srequestforaccountability”“尊重民意的问责”,RenminRibao,September24th.(Originaltext:“尊重民意的“问责”,得到了民意的正面回应:公众通过网上留言等方式表达欢迎与欣慰;在近期救治问题奶粉患儿工作中,也出现了相互理解、支持与配合的一幕幕感人情景”)
41
During SARS, Wen Jiabao was already an important source as member of the
standingcommitteeandthePrimeMinisterofPRC. In2008,however,WenJiabaohad
takenamore ”human” form,and in this reporthewassmall talkingwithparentsand
children,whowerewaiting in line to be screened for kidney failure. ”Where are you
from?””Whatkindofmilkdidyoudrink?””Wereanyproblemsdiscovered?”heaskedin
an,accordingtothe journalist, ”deeplyconcerned”way.161Inthescreeningroom,Wen
walkedovertoacryingbabyand”warmlycomforted”herbysaying”don’tcry,itwillbe
oksoon.”ThereporterevendescribedtheexpressiononthePrimeMinister’sfacewhen
thehealthpersonnelweretellinghimthattheyhadalreadycured20children.”Hearing
this,thedistancebetweenWenJiabao'seyebrowsopenedupalittle,”162hewrote.
Onavisittoaretiredman’shouseinaresidencyareainBeijingthesameday,the
oldmancouldassureWenthathisgrandsonwashealthy.ThePrimeministertookthe
opportunitytoshowhisdeepconcernfortheaffected.Hesaid:“Evenifordinarypeople
havebeenunderstanding,as thegovernmentwe feelveryguilty.”Theman’sdaughter
thensaidinaspontaneousmanner:”Wehavefaith inthegovernment”and”Thistime
thedegreeoftransparencyofthegovernmenthasbeenhigh.”163
During SARS, the top leaders had amore serious and authoritarian inspecting
role.ManyhavenotedhowWen Jiabaohasbecomeagrandfatherly figure in the later
years.DuringtheearthquakeinSichuaninMaythesameyearasthemilkscandalbroke,
hewonpeople’sheartsbyshowingupinthedisasterarea,onlydaysafterthequake.
Inaway,WenJiabaowastheonlyheroinRenminRibao'sstoryaboutthemilk
scandal.Hewashumble,honestandcaringtowardsthepeopleandresoluteaboutwhat
hadtobedone.HisrolewassimilartothatofthehealthworkersintheSARScoverage.
ThestyleusedcoveringWen'svisittoregularpeoplewasalsowhenRenminRibaocame
closesttotraditionalpropaganda‐styleintheirreportingonthemilkscandal,ashewas
describedsolelybypositiveadjectives.
161LiBin李斌,HuangJinquan黄全权:“Weshallberesponsibletothepeople–WenJiabaovisitschildrenillfromthe“Sanlumilkformulacase”inBeijingandinspectsdairyproductmarkets”“我们要对人民负责—温家宝在北京看望“奶粉事件”患病儿童并考察奶制品市场”,RenminRibaoSeptember22,2008.162Ibid.(Originaltext:“听到这个消息,温家宝的眉头稍微舒展开一点”)163Ibid.
42
Thediscourseofopenness(公开)During the inspection mentioned above, Wen responded to the lady’s praise of the
government’srecentopennessbysaying:“Wehavetoberesponsibletothepeople,so
wemustaccuratelypublish(gongkai公开)thesituationtocommonpeople.”164
The word “gongkai” was by 2008 well established as part of the top leaders’
vocabulary. In dictionaries it refers to several adjectives, such as “open,” “overt,”
“public,” to the verbs “publish,” “makepublic,” “make known to the public” and as an
adverb,to“openly”.Thecharacters“gong”and“kai”translateas“public”andto“open.”
DuringSARS,wesawthatthegovernmentturnedaroundandstartedpursuinga
moreopenlineof informingaboutthecase.Itdidnot,however, inmymaterialof220
articlesusetheword“gongkai”aboutinformationtothepublic.Inmy98articlesabout
the tainted milk scandal, the word was used 10 times, both by journalists and top
leaders,usuallyconnectedtotheword“transparency”(透明.)
Opennesswasalsodiscussedusingother terms. Inacommentarypublishedon
September 22nd, written by Renmin Ribao's Jiang Hongbing, headlined ”Scientific
development is of utmost urgency,” the author says that: ”Having gone from the
commonpractiseofformertimesofreportingonlypleasantnewstodaringtonotcover
upeverylargeandsmallscandalisasignificantimprovement.”165
SeeninlightofthehistoryofChinesegovernment’smediapolicyandtheroleof
the journalist, thiscaneasilybeagreedupon. Inhercommentarythemainaimwasto
urgefora”scientificdevelopment,”butsheobviouslysawopennessofgovernmentasa
prerequisite for that. Still, an independent role of the journalist or themediawasnot
takenintoaccountinthiskindofargument,andfreedomofspeechisnotatopic.
Ina report fromWen Jiabao'svisit to theU.S. onSeptember24th, his “informal
talk”withsixChinese languagenewscompany’schiefeditors inNewYorkwaspassed
on to the Renmin Ribao's readers. The editors acknowledged recent government
opennessininformation,thetimelinessandtransparencyandWenJiabaoanswered:
When it comes to openness in information, the important thing is openness in
governmentadministration.Theworkofthegovernmentmustbetransparent,itmustbe
carriedout insunlight.Except fromresponsibility, service, contributionandhonesty,a
government should not have any other special powers. In the end we support two
164Ibid.(Originaltext:“我们要对人民负责,就必须如实地把情况都向老百姓公开)165JiangHongbing姜泓冰:“Scientificdevelopmentisofutmosturgency”“科学发展迫在眉睫”,RenminRibao,September22,2008.(Originaltext:“从以往盛行的报喜不报忧,到敢于绝不隐瞒任何大灾小祸,已是不小的进步”)
43
principles. The first is safety of the people; the second is openness in information.
Openness in the administration must be systematic, and in practise continuously be
improved.166
InWen'stwoprinciplesreststhecrucialtensionbetweensafetyandopenness.Itseems,
however that the word ”safety”, that often has been seen in connection to the other
much used concepts ”social stability” or ”harmony”, conditions that may be used as
argumentsagainstopennessofinformation,throughthesescandalshadcomecloserto
beassociatedwiththeword”openness.”Ibelievethishadhappenedgradually,butthat
theexperiencewiththeSARSscandalmighthavebeenanimportantfactor.Thefactthat
bothWenJiabaoandthecommentatorsintheRenminRibaodiscussedthisconceptto
someextentmightimplythatithadbecomepoliticallyacceptedtoquestiongovernment
opennessinabroadersensethanbefore.
Myimpression,however,havingreadaboutSARSandespeciallythetaintedmilk
scandal, is that ”openness” was being closely linked to the concept of ”scientific
development,”anideographconstructedandfilledwithmeaningbytheParty itself. In
definingit,theRenminRibaojournalistsdidnotdifferfromtheParty.Theconceptwas
notbeinglinkedtodiscussionsoffreedomofexpressionorfreedomofthepressandnot
atalltothediscourseof”humanrights,”astheNanfangZhoumodidduringSARS.Itwas
ratherconnectedtothetaskofmakingamoreefficientgovernmentwithlocalofficials
moreloyaltothecentralgovernment,somethingthathadbeenamainfocusfortheHu‐
Wenadministrationsincetheytookofficein2003.
ThetaintedmilkscandalintheNanfangZhoumoIntheNanfangZhoumo,thefirstarticlestodirectlymentionthemilkscandalappeared
intheeditionpublishedonSeptember18th.ItsSeptember11theditiondidnotmention
thecase,buttheXinhuastorycameoutlatethatday,soitwasprobablynotintimefor
theprintingoftheweekly.
BetweenthelinesIntheSeptember18thedition,thepaperdidnotexceedtheXinhuaversioninitsnews
coverage,butratherprintedatimeline(fromSeptember11thtoSeptember17th)ofthe
scandal,squeezedintotheinnermargin,withallinformationtakenfromXinhua.Atthe
166LiShijia李诗佳,WangJiangang王建刚:“WenJiabaohadaninformaltalkwiththeleadersoflocalChineselanguagemediainAmerica”“温家宝与美当地华文媒体负责人座谈”,RenminRibao,September26,2008.(Originaltext:“信息公开重要的是政务公开。政府的工作必须透明,在阳光下进行。一个政府除了责任、服务、奉献和廉洁外,不应当有任何其他特权。我们始终坚持两条原
则,一是把人民群众生命安全放在第一位,二是实行信息公开。政务公开要制度化,并在实践中不断完善”)
44
bottomofthesamepage,thepaperprintedacommentaryheadlined”Howtomonitor
the safety of food products.”167The commentary focused on the effectiveness and
functionality of the American monitoring system for dairy products and other food
productsandtheresultinghighleveloftrustamongAmericanconsumerstowardsthese
industries.ItdidnotmentionthetaintedmilkscandalorSanlu,butwassomehowlinked
toitbythetimelinenexttoitandofcoursethesimilarityintopic.Itwasobviousthat
theNanfangZhoumosawitslimitationsinwhatitcouldwriteaboutthescandalwithout
gettingreprisalsatthispoint.Butagain,wenoticehowitmadeanattempttoindirectly
communicateitspointofviewandrelevantinformationtoitsreaders.
DiscipliningjournalistsInanothercommentary intheSeptember18th issue,oneof thepaper’scommentators,
XiaoShu,criticisedChinesemediaundertheheadline“Countlesspublicrelationsshow
the degeneration of media.”168He refreshed memory by telling that Sanlu only three
years ago had mysteriously disappeared from a list made by some media of dairy
companies connected to the “Big head baby scandal,” where babies had become
malnutritionedafterhavingbeingfedbadbabymilkformula.“Seeninthelightofthis,
what reallyhappenedshouldnotbehard to imagine,”XiaoShusaid,probablyhinting
thatSanluhaduseditsconnections(guanxi关系)togetoffthelist.Hethenwentonto
criticise theunhealthy conditions inChinesemedia, saying thatmediaactuallyhad its
share of responsibility in letting the Sanlu case happen, because it followed the
“unspoken rules” (qian guize潜规则) of connections and pay offs. “The media must
strive to break loose from the constraints of ‘unspoken rules’ and dare to report the
wholetruthtothepublic,”169heconcludedinanattempttodisciplinemediaitself.This
againatteststotheNanfangZhoumo'sstrongfocusnotonlyontheimportantroleofthe
media,butalso its responsibility.Without criticising the censors, it encouragedmedia
workerstobemoredaringandcarryouttheirimportantresponsibility.
NetizensasasourceFor the first time in my material, a blog post got considerable column space in the
September 25th issue. In the main article on the scandal that day, headlined “Li
167YangXiaohui杨小卉:”Howtomonitorthesafetyoffoodproducts”“安全食品的监管之道”,NanfangZhoumo,September18,2008.168XiaoXun笑蜀:“Countlesspublicrelationsshowthedegenerationofmedia”“无量公关凸显媒体病变”,NanfangZhoumo,September18,2008.169Ibid.(Originaltext:“媒体必须从潜规则的制约下挣脱出来,敢于向公众报道一切”)
45
Zhangjiang resigns, onemore step forward,”170thepaper referred retrospectively to a
blogpostwherelawyerZhouZehadaskedtheAQSIQdirectortoresigntwodaysbefore
hedid.Hehadarguedinhisblogthatafteranepisodewheremelaminewasfoundinpet
food exported to the U.S. in March 2007, the AQSIQ had urgently facilitated sample
testingofthischemicalinotherproducts,suchasinfantformulaandliquidproducts,but
nothing had been found. In 2008, it was the MOH that found melamine in domestic
products. The paper said that “according to our understanding,” the AQSIQ after this
eventputmelamineonthelistofwhattotestexportproductsfor.“TheAQSIQletgoofa
goodopportunityhere,” theheadof theAgriculturalUniversityofChina’sdepartment
forfoodstudiescommented,followingupZhou’spoint.
I found few references to blog posts or comments posted on the web in my
material,but Ibelievewhat I foundmayreflect the trend to someextent. InmySARS
material in Nanfang Zhoumo's first issue, it was said that people were getting
information fromthe Internetabout theepidemic.Somewebpageswerealsousedas
sources. As we see, during the tainted milk scandal, the Nanfang Zhoumo quoted a
lawyerwhothroughhisbloghadraisedcritiqueagainstthecontrolsystemforfood.He
wasonlyonecriticalvoice,buthisroleasalawyerlenthimsomeauthority.
In theRenminRibao, I foundonereference to thenetizens,but there thevoice
was that of “the public” used in a way not too different from how the Party would
traditionallytalkabout“thepeople,”thegroupitclaimstorepresent.
Thestormofaccountability(问责风暴)In the above‐mentioned story, the Nanfang Zhoumo looked closer at the role and
responsibility of the resigned director of the AQSIQ. The story’s under‐headline read,
“HewasthespokesmanforfoodsafetyinChina.Thedepartmentheledwas1.3billion
people’sassuranceforsafe food.OnSeptember22nd,hetooktheblameandresigned.”
Onhislastpressconferencebeforethat,hehadassuredthathewouldseverelyhandle
thepeopleinvolvedthathadneglectedtheirdutyoractedagainstthelaw.Atthesame
press conference, the paper continued, he was asked why the AQSIQ had not found
melamineinmilkproductsearlier.Thedirectoransweredthatthischemicalwasnoton
anyChineseorinternationallistofchemicalstotestforinbabymilkformula.Thiswas
questionedinlawyerZhouZe'sblog,asoutlinedabove.Further,thepaperreportedthat
already by June,worried reports from a parent and a doctor had been posted to the170SuYongtong苏永通,MaChangbo马昌博:“LiZhangjiangresigns,onemorestepforward”“李长江辞职,下一步……”,NanfangZhoumo,September25,2008.
46
AQSIQ'swebpage(thathadnowdisappeared),somethingthataddedto thesensethat
theAQSIQshouldhaveknownabouttheproblemsatanearliertime.Hence,thepaper
concluded that even though the local governmentdidnot report it, theAQSIQhad its
partoftheresponsibilityforthescandal.171
Like the Renmin Ribao, theNanfang Zhoumomentions themudslide in Shanxi
andthatthecity’smayorhadsteppeddown.IncontrasttotheRenminRibao,however,
the paper reminds its readers that the mayor, Zhang Wengkang, had also left a top
leaderpostbefore–as theMinisterofHealthduringSARS.Bymerelypointing to this
fact, theNanfangZhoumo illuminatedhow thepracticeof “request for accountability”
didnotnecessarilymean theendof thecareerofa toppolitician.At thesametime, it
highlighted that itwasworth remembering the fact that a party secretary, the one of
Shijiazhuang city, had been removed from his party post. “That a full‐time party
committeeleaderisbeingheldaccountableisstillararity,172”thecommentatornoted.
Attheendofthearticle,thepaperinformedthatLiwouldkeephismembershipofthe
CentralCommitteeoftheCommunistParty.
InasmallcommentaryonSeptember25th,aNanfangZhoumoreporterdiscussed
whathecalledtherecent“Stormofaccountability”(wenzefengbao问责风暴,)arguing
thatawellrungovernmentwouldnothavethiskindofstorm,asitwasonlyduetoan
accumulation of problems and that itmainly served to appeal to the “publicmorale.”
(minxinshiqi民心士气)173Intheend,hesaid,itwasastrategythat“mendsthefoldafter
thesheepislost”(wangyangbulao亡羊补牢.)
Coveringthemilkscandal,theNanfangZhoumo,liketheRenminRibao,discussed
severalaspectsof responsibilityandgovernmentaccountability.But it alsopointed to
overlappingrolesandrelationshipsandbroughthistoricaleventsintolighttospecifyits
critique.This investigativeattitudewasquitedifferent fromthedebate in theRenmin
Ribao, which mainly focused on where to go next. We saw that the Renmin Ribao
journalist wrote in the article ”Respect the popular will’s request for accountability,”
that thepublic felt at easenow that the “stormof accountability” had swept over the
country.TheNanfangZhoumocommentatordidnotseemtohavethesameeaseofmind,
171Ibid.172Ibid.(originaltext:”党委正职领导被问责,尚属罕见”)173NanfangZhoumo:“Awellrungovernmentshouldnothavestormsofaccountability”“善治政府不该有问责风暴”,September25,2008.
47
arguing that it mainly appealed to public morale, and that the problem was a
governmentruninanunhealthyway,ratherthanitsindividuals.
QuestionsoflegalityandlawyersasasourceWhen the Nanfang Zhoumo picked up the debate of the “China famous brand” and
“Nationalexemptfrommonitoringproducts”practices,itfocusedonthelegaldimension.
On September 25th, the paper printed an article where three controversial
aspects of the selection process (pingxuan san da zhengyi评选三大争议) of these
productswerepointedout.ThestorywasbasedonaletterthatlawyerZhouZehadsent
the AQSIQ in the beginning of September. The three questions he viewed as
controversialwere:Whetherthepractisewasagainst the law.Whetherthecommittee
was against the law and whether the practise was reliable.174The vice director of
AQSIQ'squalitydepartmentrefutedall thosecriticisms inan interviewwiththepaper
conductedonSeptember10th.Afterthepracticehadeventuallybeenabolished,thevice
directorsaidtothepaperthattheAQSIQwasnolongerallowedtodirectlyparticipatein
the election of the winner. He then commented upon media’s role: “There are also
problems with the “Famous Chinese Brand products,” and media should reveal the
negativesides.Thisisundisputable,(media)shouldalsohelptosolvetheproblem.”175
OnOctober2nd,the2008U.S.electionwasfeaturedonthefrontpage,butthere
was a reference to the article “The tainted baby milk formula case calls for a
compensation package”176in the margin. In spite of the headline that referred to a
collectivelynegotiatedcompensationpackagetothevictims,thefocusofthearticlewas
onavoluntarylawyers’groupwhoprovidedlegalaidtovictimsprobono.LiFangping,
one of the founders of this group, said concerns about poor people had been the
motivation for the group to be formed. Although the government had promised to
compensatethecostsofmedicaltreatment,onefamilyhadalreadyfiledacivil lawsuit
againstSanlu,hopingtospeeduptheprocessofcompensation.Inthearticle,different
aspectsofsuchanapproachwerediscussed,andtowardsthebottomofthestoryitwas
added that many lawyers and legal scholars believed that a collectively negotiated
compensationpackagewouldbemostsuitableinthiscase.177
174SuYongtong苏永通,XueTian薛田:“Threecontroversialaspectsoftheselectionof“Chinafamousbrand””““中国名牌”评选三大争议”,NanfangZhoumo,September25,2008.175SuYongtong苏永通,XueTian薛田:“HowtodealwithqualityproblemsofFamousbrandproducts”“名牌展品出现质量问题怎么办”,NanfangZhoumo,September25,2008.176DingBuzhi丁补之,ZhaoLei赵蕾,WuYao吴瑶:“Thetaintedbabymilkformulacasecallsforacompensationpackage”“毒奶粉事件呼唤一揽子赔偿方案”,NanfangZhoumo,September2,2008.177Ibid.
48
The volunteer lawyers’ group was not mentioned in the Renmin Ribao in my
material, although it may have appeared later. Lawyers organising outside official
controllikethisisasensitiveissueinChina178.Byinformingaboutsuchadevelopment,
theNanfang Zhoumoprovided useful information to the people despite running risks
withthecensors.
Theindustryandthe“lawofthejungle”OnOctober9th, themilk scandalhad for the first timegottenhalfof the frontpage.A
photo of a farmer and amilk cow,with a dramatic looking heaven behind them and
farmhousesonbothsides,followedthefeaturingstory.Theheadlinewas“TheChinese
dairyindustry:Fromeightgoldenyearstoacompletemess.”179Intheissue,thereader
gottoknowthestoryofthedairy industry inChinathroughseveralarticles.Welearn
thatinthegoldenperiodinthefirstpartofthetwenty‐firstcentury,farmersearned4‐
5000yuanpercowayear,butby2008theannualincomepercowhadfallento1‐2000
yuan,asaresultof,amongotherthings,fiercecompetitionbetweenthebrands.
Thearticlesinthisissueexploredthebackgroundforthechaoticsituationinthe
dairy industry, especially among themilk salesmen (nai fanzi奶贩子) ormiddlemen,
whosemarketwasdescribedashavinga “strong lawof the jungle flavour.”180Sources
with direct experience from the market explained how it had evolved and several
interestorgans fromthe industry talkedabout theproblems. Inan interviewwith the
paper, the leader of the Guangdong food industry committee, Zhang Junxiu, directed
strongcritiqueagainstasystemwherehesaidthatgovernmentdepartmentshadmade
the supervision organs of the industry into “moneymaking sons.” “The profit
relationshipbetweengovernmentandindustryshouldbeembodiedintaxcollecting,”181
he said, referring to how the industry had to pay these organs to be “exempt from
monitoringbrands”andthatthishadcreateda“chainofprofit”(liyidai利益带.)
TheRenminRibaoreportedearlyWenJiabao'sconclusionthatthemilkscandal
wasaresultofachaoticdairymarket.TheNanfangZhoumosent its journalistsout in
178Reportssaidthatseveralofthelawyerswerepressuredorthreatenedbylocalofficialstogiveuptheirwork,forexamplethisinTheTelegraph,September28,2008:“Chinamilkscandallawyersthreatened”.179HeFeng禾风,JiaSiyu贾恩玉:“Chinesemilkindustry:Fromeightgoldenyearstoacompletemess””中国奶业:黄金八年,一地鸡毛”,NanfangZhoumo,October9,2008.180XuNan徐楠:“Revisitingachaoticscene:‘milkblenders’,connectionsandstupidcows””乱象回溯:“调奶人”,“关系奶”和“傻子牛””,NanfangZhoumo,October9,2008.(Originaltext:带着浓厚的丛林法则意味)181ZhangJunXiu张俊修,MengDengKe孟登科,WangXia王霞:“Thegovernmentshouldnotmakesupervisingunitsinto“moneymakingsons””“政府部门不能把检测单位变成收钱的”儿子””,NanfangZhoumo,October9,2008.(Originaltext:政府跟企业之间的利益应该是通过税收来体现的”)
49
thefieldtoinvestigatetheconditionsonthegroundandwasthereforeabletoconcretise
theproblems.
ThecaseofSouthKoreaHaving examined the discourses in official and liberal media in China about the two
biggestpublichealthcrisesinthecountryinthereformperiod,Iwillturnbrieflytolook
athowasimilarnationalcrisiswashandledbymediainSouthKoreain2005–2006.
SouthKoreanmedia Although South Koreanmedia structure was based onWesternmodels and theories,
particularly the Anglo‐American free pressmodel,182ParkMyung‐jin, Kim Chang‐nam
andSohnByung‐wooshowhowthemediaindustryinSouthKoreahasdevelopedunder
strongguidanceofthestate.Fromthe60sthemediabecameanimportanttoolforthe
governmentinitstaskofachievingrapidindustrialisationandmodernisationafterthe
KoreanWar. Media therefore owedmuch of its growth and wealth to the protective
policies and preferential treatment from government. The result was an established
media withmainly conservative ideological leanings and a lack of diversity in public
discourse. In recent years, however, the state’spowerovermediahasdecreasedwith
theincreasingdependencyofmediacompaniesonincomefromadvertisements.183
Atthesametime,theauthorsremarkhowtheemergenceofprogressivemedia,
suchastheHankyorehdaily,represented“evidenceofdemocratisationtakingplace in
Koreansocietyandchangesinthepowerstructure.”184TheHankyorehwasestablished
in1988by journalistswhohad lost their jobs in the largeconservativepapersdue to
their roles in promoting freedom of the press and democracy under the military
dictatorship. Unlike most Korean papers, that are owned by a family or business
conglomerate, theownersoftheHankyorehare62,000shareholdersfromallwalksof
life in Korea.185In the example below we will see how a TV‐program aired on an
independent TV‐channel sent shock waves through Korean politicians, scientists and
evenrockednationalidentity.
ProfessionalethicsunderpressureHwang Woo‐suk and his research team at Seoul National University (SNU) brought
national honour to Korea when they claimed to have successfully produced patient‐
182ParkandSohninCurranandPark2000:121.183Ibid2000:120f. 184Ibid.185TheHankyorehwebsite.
50
specificstemcellsinthelaboratory.186Thegroundbreakingresearch,acknowledgedby
two articles in Science, a renowned international science journal, could someday give
insightintomanyhereditaryconditionsandevencreatereplacementtissuesgenetically
matched to patients. For these achievements, Hwang gained full support from the
governmentand,aswewillseebelow,fromabroadpartoftheKoreanpressandpublic.
Itwasthereforeadevastatingblowtonationalpridewhentheinvestigativenews
program PD Notebook, aired by Seoul‐based Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. (MBC), on
October22ndreportedthatdonorshadbeenpaidforeggsusedinresearch,thatjunior
labmemberswereamongthedonorsandthatHwanghadliedaboutthesourcesofthe
egg cells in the Science paper. This was regarded as a violation against international
research ethics. Two days later Hwang admitted having lied about the sources and
resignedfromanewlyappointeddirectorpositionattheStemCellHub.
In the first program theMBC did not, however, reveal that they had evidence
showingthattheresultsofHwang'sresearchpublishedinSciencein2005wasactually
fakedwiththehelpofamanipulatedphoto.MisinformedbythejournaliststhatKorean
prosecutors had already begun an investigation, a former colleague of Hwang had
admittedthefraudandshowedthereportershowhehadmanipulatedthephotos.The
reporterssecretlyfilmedtheinterview.OnDecember2nd,thetopproducersannounced
onapressconferencethatthereportquestioningtheauthenticityofHwang'sworkwas
yet to come. Realising he had been tricked by the journalists to tell his story, the
whistleblowertoldanotherTVprogramthatPDNotebookhadcoercedhimintogiving
theinfo,therebybreakingprofessionaljournalisticethics.
PublicoutrageandadpulloutsConsideredbymanytobetheworld’sleadingscientistinthefieldofstemcellresearch,
Hwanghadbecomeanationalheroandtheaudiencesupportedhimstronglyevenafter
he had admitted his violations towards research ethics. Over 20 000 commentswere
posted on the MBC's bulletin boards and reporters received threats from Hwang‐
supporters.187Hundredsofwomenalsovolunteeredtodonateeggsforresearch.When
11 firms pulled advertising from the newsmagazine, theMBC decided not to air the
segmentcoveringquestionsabouttheSciencepaper.
ChoonKeyChekarandJennyKitzingerhaveobservedhowKoreanmediain2004
actively promoted a nationalist framing ofHwang'swork, under headlines such as “A186Sciencewebsite,January2006:“HowYoungKoreanResearchersHelpedUnearthaScandal...”(newssection).187NewsGuangdong,December2,2005:“DisgracedStemCellPioneerSeenAsaHero”.
51
great Korean achievement,”188how they advocatedmore financial support and asked
the people to “render its unsparing trust and support' to Hwang's enterprise.”189The
authors remark that “suchwas thedegreeof nationalistic investment in the stem cell
researchenterprisethatanycriticalquestioningseemedunpatriotic.”
The quest to become number one in stem cell research was also seen as
important for the Korean economy, as there were great expectations that Hwang's
discoveriescouldbecommercialisedresultingina“bio‐medicalboom.”Thisisalsopart
oftheexplanationforthepro‐businessconservativemedia’sapproach.
Conservativemedia’sreactionsAfter the first investigative report by the MBC, conservative media showed strong
support for Hwang and spent considerable column space criticising MBC for its
aggressivereportingmethods.Whena journalist fromtheconservativeChosun Ilbo,a
newspaperdescribedas“pro‐capitalandrightwinged,”190gotaninterviewwithHwang
after he had escaped publicity in December 2005, he described the professor in a
sympathetictone:
ThefamiliarvoicesoundedfaintoverthecellphoneonMondaymorning,witharingof
weariness from too much happening too fast. But Prof. Hwang Woo‐suk has been
through much in recent weeks: he has been hounded by investigative reporters,
apologized for ethical lapses as he pushed aheadwith ground‐breaking research, and
quitallhisofficialposts.191
Inmanyofitsnewsstories,thewordingportrayedthescientistas“clean”andtheMBC's
reportingmethodsas“dirty”:
Korea’s broadcasting watchdog could punishMBC's investigative program “PD Diary”over alleged strong‐arm tactics indigging thedirt on cloningpioneerHwangWoo‐suk
andhisteam.
Althoughthejournalists’methodswerequestionable,theimpressionwasthatnational
pride andpopularopinion shouldgobefore critical investigation.PresidentRohMoo‐
hyunshowedhisconcernaboutthesituationinapostontheofficialwebsite:"Protest
messagesandphonecallscanbemade,butcancellingadvertisingshowedthingswent
toofarandasocialclimatethatdoesnottoleratecriticismhasbeencreated."192
188JoongAngIlbo,February13,2004,inChekarandKitzinger2007.189KoreaHerald,February16,2004,inChekarandKitzinger2007.190ChekarandKitzinger2007.191TheChosunIlbo,December5,2005:“CloningPioneer‘JustWantedtoLeaveitAllBehind’”.192NewsGuangdong,December2,2005:“DisgracedStemCellPioneerSeenAsaHero”.
52
OnDecember12th,SNUsaiditwouldstartaninvestigation,andthreedayslater
the MBC broadcasted the interview with the former colleague that claimed he had
doctored the photos. On December 29th, the university determined that all of the 11
stemcelllineswerefabricated.
In theaftermath, thediscourseofnationalpridewas turned intoadiscourseof
national shameand traumaand thevirtuesof “Koreanqualities”, suchas “thehungry
spirit”, previously praised as essential to Korean achievements and manifested in
Hwangandhisenterprise,weredebated193.
MarketforcesandnationalismIn Korea, popular outcry and a powerful conservative pro‐businessmedia playing on
nationalistsentimentsalmosthinderedseriousresearchfraudfrombeingbroughtinto
daylight.Butwhennationalistsentimentsgotoutofhand,eventhePresident,whohad
investedmuchconfidenceandmoneyinHwang,steppedforwardtoprotectvaluesofa
healthypublicdebate.FortheliberalRoh,withabackgroundasalabourlawyer,itwas
probablyaquitenaturalsteptotakeafterall.HistragicsuicideinMay2009,aresultof
the intense pressure the incoming government of LeeMyung‐bak put on him and his
supporters,194may serve as another example to illustrate the difficulties of being a
liberalvoiceinacountrywheretheconservativeforcesareasmassiveasinKorea.
In the end, the independent progressive media was able to disclose the
hollownessofsomeofKorea’s“scientificachievements.”Thefraudituncoveredwasofa
dimensionneithertheconservativemedianorthegovernmentcouldaffordtocoverup.
Concludingnotes
In this thesis, I have examinedhow twoChinese newspapers covered the two largest
publichealthcrises in thereform‐era. InaHabermasianspirit Ihavetriedtoconsider
the characteristics and the condition of the Chinese public sphere by looking at its
institutionalframework,theparticipants’statuses,whichtopicswerediscussedandthe
inclusiveness of thedebates. I have also closely examined the language in the articles
andusageofparticularterms.
I have showedhow the persistence of traditional institutional arrangements of
themediaensurethattheparty‐statestillhasmuchcontrolofpublicdiscourseontopics
193ChekarandKitzinger2007.194Suh2010
53
of public interest, such as politics. Yet, market reform and the emergence of
investigating journalism inpapers suchasNanfangZhoumohave led toawideningof
thetopicstobediscussedwithinthelimitsofcensorship.
Duringthemilkscandal,theofficialpartypaperRenminRibaoairedmorevoices
anddiscussedmoretopicswithawidersetsofopinionsthanitdidduringSARS.Still,the
extensiveuseofunchallenged ideographswereserioushinders forarationaldebate. I
have showed how the word ”science” and later the concept ”scientific development”
wereutilised in severalways in order to give legitimacy to theParty and the current
leadership, but without being clearly defined. It seems, however, that pointing out
responsibilities and underliningmeasures taken, such as removing people from their
jobsorstrippingthemofpartyposts,weresomewhatmoreacceptablein2008.
Both in2003and2008, theconsumersasagroupgotaspecialattention inthe
Renmin Ribao, and in 2008 violations against the consumers set off critique towards
severalaspectsofthecurrentsystembyitscommentingjournalists.
Thatbeingsaid,accesstothedebateintheRenminRibaowaslargelylimitedto
officialsources.Ihaveshownhowforeigngovernmentsandinternationalorganisations,
suchastheWHO,werequoted,but inastronglyselectiveway.Thesamewastruefor
foreignmedia, whichwas usually brought in as proof either of hostile foreign actors
attackingChinaorassupportingfriends.MostofthenationalistsentimentsIidentified
werepropelledbyarticlesinforeignmedia,includingTaiwanesepapers.
In the Nanfang Zhoumo, amuchwider range of voiceswere included, such as
poorpeasants or ”people in the street.”The journalists themselvesbecame important
witnessesthroughvividreportsbasedontheirownobservationsinthefield.Sensitive
topicswerediscussedandnewconnectionsbrought intothelight inacriticalmanner.
Thepaperwasobviouslyrestrictedbycensorship,butinrestrictiveperiodsitreported
about the events between the lines. At the same time, the Nanfang Zhoumo actively
advocatedformoregovernmentopenness,amoreresponsiblemediaand,althoughina
lessdirectmanner,morefreedomofthepress.
InHabermas’s theory, the ideal public sphere is onewhere citizens are able to
influence rulers through the power of the best argument. The extent to which the
debates in theNanfang Zhoumo or other liberal papers are able to do this is hard to
measure. I havenevertheless shown thatwhen information thatmight hurt theParty
anditspositionwerebroughtintotheopenitwashardforthePartytosimplyignoreit.
54
At the same time, it is not given that the liberal views expressed in Nanfang
Zhoumo find resonancewith the population at large and their perceptions ofwhat is
best for them and their country. Nationalism and patriotism are strongly rooted
sentimentsthatshouldnotbeignored.Norshouldthefactthatjournalistswithastrictly
“professionalist” approach to their role belong to the rarities, even though an
investigative culture has emerged in some papers the recent years. Not only is their
traditional role tosupport theParty,most journalistsalsobelong to theurbanmiddle
class that has gained from the market reforms and the economical growth the later
years.ThismayserveasanadditionalexplanationtowhythePartystillisabletomainly
controlthepressthroughthemosteffectiveway–self‐censorship.
So,whateffectdidthoseparticularscandalsandthereportingonthemhaveon
theclimateof thepublicsphere inChina?First, IbelievethatSARSwasaseriouseye‐
openerforthenewleadershipinBeijing,showingthatitstraditionalapproachto”risk
communication,” that put political stability before access to information, no longer
served the Party’s interest as well as it had during the Mao‐years. By declaring a
situationofcrisis,however,thecentral leadershipweregiventheopportunitytomore
effectively make local and provincial governments implement otherwise unpopular
policies. Secondly, the taintedmilk scandalmade food safety into a politically correct
topic to discuss, and journalistswere given the task tomake sure similar caseswere
revealed. I believe this is closely connected to the fact that the group affected by
contaminated food are not just ordinary people, but also consumers, and consumers
haveaspecialpositioninasocietywherethelegitimacyoftherulingpartylargelyrests
upon itsability tosustaineconomicgrowth.Thirdly, Ihaveobservedhowadiscourse
of”openness,”thatwasthedomainoftheNanfangZhoumoin2008,hadmovedintothe
columns of Renmin Ribao and into the speeches of the top leaders in Beijing.
The”openness”of theofficialdiscoursedidnot,however,refertoanykindofpolitical
reform in thedirectionofa freepressor freedomofexpression,but rather toamore
efficientgovernment.
Inthesensethata largervarietyoftopicshavebeenopenedfordiscussionand
inquiry,thescandalscanbesaidtohavebroughtastrengtheningofthepublicspherein
China. At the same time, amore proactive and humble central government that talks
aboutopennessandaccountabilitymayhavestrengthenedthelegitimacyandpowerof
theParty,whichdonothavepoliticalreformsonitsagendaforthetimebeing.
55
Finally, the example from South Korea shows that wide and inclusive public
debatemayalsobeunderpressureinademocraticcountrywherefreedomofthepress
isinstitutionalised.
InSouthKorea,itwasnotstatecensorship,butstrongpressurefromcommercial
interestsandthedominatingnationalistideologythat,throughapowerfulconservative
press, endangered an inclusive public sphere and almost led to silencing the critique
againstthecheatingscientist.Still,theexistenceofindependentactorslikePDNotebook,
thatwereabletostanduptothedominantpowers,madesuretheaccusationsoffraud
eventuallywonthrough.
In China, state censorship put restrictions on the work of the press when
covering the scandals, as shown in this paper.But commercialisation andnationalism
havealsohadimpactonthepublicsphereinChina.Manyhavearguedforthepositive
effectscommercialisationofChinesemediahashadonthediversityandinclusivenessof
thepublicsphere.Owners(usuallylocalgovernments)andjournalistshavebothgotten
new roles and incentive patterns that in turn have brought about more liberal
publicationsandinvestigativejournalism.
Nationalism is a strongly rooted sentiment in China aswell, that affectsmedia
discourseandthusthepublicsphere.Itcanbeplayedupontorallysupportandunity,
but at the same time, thegovernmentneeds to curbpopularoutburstsofnationalism
thatmayhurtChina’simageabroadorthepositionoftheleadershipathome.
56
Tables
Table1:SourcesusedinthetwopaperswhencoveringtheSARSoutbreak
Category Renmin Percent Nanfang Percent Centralgovernment(WenJiabao,Statecouncil,departmentsetc.) 70 20.2% 4 7.4%Localgovernments(provinceandcity,incl.HongKongandTaiwan) 35 10.1% 7 13.0%ChinaspresidentandPartyleader,HuJintao,Politburo 7 2.0% 1 1.9%TheCentreforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC) 18 5.2% 1 1.9%Hospitaladministration/leadership 23 6.6% 4 7.4%Experts(scholars/psychologists/expertsonChinesemedicineetc.) 20 5.8% 5 9.3%Medicaldoctors 12 3.5% 2 3.7%Nurses 13 3.8% Recoveredpatients 11 3.2% Patient'srelatives 2 0.6% Relativesofhealthpersonnel 5 1.4% Commonpeople/peopleonthestreet 4 1.2% 17 31.5%Chineseorganisations 1 0.3% Chinesecompanies 2 0.6% 4 7.4%OtherChinesemedias 7 2.0% 4 7.4%WorldHealthOrganisation 27 7.8% 1 1.9%Foreigngovernments(incl.diplomaticenvoys) 33 9.5% Foreigncompanies 2 0.6% Foreignorganisations(incl.HongKongbased) 4 1.2% Foreignresearchinstitutes 4 1.2% Foreignnewspapers+foreignjournalistsquestionsatpressconferences(incl.HongKong) 28 8.1% Commentariesbythepapersjournalists(orarticleswithastrongcommentingcharacter) 14 4.0% 2 3.7%Commentariesfromexternalactors(incl.Xinhua) 4 1.2% 2 3.7% Totalnumberofsourcesperpaper/100% 346 100.0% 54 100.0% Total Perart. Total Perart.Totalnumberofarticlesperpaper/Numberofsourcesperarticle: 220 1.57 16 3.38
57
Table2:Sourcesusedinthetwopaperswhencoveringthetaintedmilkscandal
Category RenminPercent Nanfang
Percent
Centralgovernment(WenJiabao,Statecouncil,departmentsetc.) 46 32.6% 3 5.8%Localgovernments(provinceandcity,incl.HongKongandTaiwan) 29 20.6% 1 1.9%
AQSIQ 15 10.6% 5 9.6%
Internalcontrolactors 1 0.7% 1 1.9%
Hospitaladministration/leadership 2 1.4% Experts(scholars/psychologists/expertsonChinesemedicineetc.) 7 5.0% 7 13.5%
Lawyers 4 7.7%
Healthpersonnel 2 1.4%
Patient’srelatives 1 0.7% 1 1.9%
Shopstaff 2 1.4%
Commonpeople,peopleonthestreet,customer 4 2.8% Chineseorganisationsincl.interestgroupsandprovisionalassociations 9 6.4% 9 17.3%Chinesecompanies,dairyproducers,milkstations,dairyfarmers 10 7.1% 11 21.2%
OtherChinesemedias 1 0.7% 2 3.8%
WorldHealthOrganisation 1 0.7%
Foreignmedia(incl.HongKong) 1 0.7%
Commentariesbythepapersjournalists(orarticleswithastrongcommentingcharacter) 10 7.1% 7 13.5%
Commentariesfromexternalactors(incl.Xinhua) 1 1.9%
Totalnumberofsourcesperpaper/100% 141 100.0% 52 100.0%
Total Perart. Total Perart.Totalnumberofarticlesperpaper/Numberofsourcesperarticle: 98 1.44 18 2.89
59
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BaiJianfeng白剑峰:“ZhangWenkangdeclaredataStateCouncilpress‐conferencethatitissafetoliveandtravelinChina”“张文康在国务院新闻发布会上宣布,在中国生活旅游是安全的”,RenminRibao,April4,2003.GongWen龚雯:“TheresponsiblepersonattheNationaltravelbureauexpressed,whenexternallyinformingaboutthetravelsituation,thatitisassuredthatitiscompletelysafeandhealthytotraveltoanyplaceinChina”“国家旅游局负责人对外通报旅游情况表示中国各地的旅游安全和健康完全有保证”,RenminRibao,April4,2003.XinhuainRenminRibao:“OnaninvestigationandresearchvisitattheCDC,WuYiemphasisthatitisneededtobuildandimprovetheresponseandhandlingsystemforsuddenlyemergingpublichealthcases”“吴仪在中国疾病预防控制中心调研时强调要抓紧建立和完善突发公共卫生事件应急处理机制”,April5,2003.BaiJianfeng白剑峰:“People’shealthisofutmostimportance–anevaluationofmycountry’sworktopreventandcureSARS”“人民健康重于泰山—我国非典型肺炎防治述评”,RenminRibao,April18,2003.WuJia武侠:“HowtopreventandcureSARSaccordingtolaw?”“防治非典如何依法办事?”,RenminRibao,April23,2003.BaiJianfeng白剑峰:“ThecentralgovernmentfocusonSARSinTaiwan”“中央政府关注台湾非典型肺炎”RenminRibao,April4,2003.LiaoLei廖雷,ZhangYong张勇:“ArepresentativefromtheWHOsaystheWHO’sstandontheTaiwanproblemiscompletelyclear”“世卫组织代表说,世卫组织在台湾问题上的立场一直是明确的”,RenminRibao,April24,2003.RenGuoping任国平:“Speculationswithevilintentionsdonothelpthesituation”“恶意炒作于事无补”,RenminRibao,April17,2003.XinhuainRenminRibao:“MayorsofthreeAmericancitieswenttheir“Chinatown’s”todine”“美三城市市长到“唐人街”用餐”,April18,2003.BaiJianFeng白剑峰:“Howtotreatatypicalpneumonia–theMinistryofHealthannouncesrecommendedmethod”“非典型肺炎如何治疗卫生部公布推荐方案”,RenminRibao,April7,2003.ZongHuanping宗焕平,WangSihai王思海:“Morethan200sickenedhasrecoveredandlefthospitalinBeijingandHongKong”“京港二百多位“非典”患者康复出院”,RenminRibao,April14,2003.YuShujun王淑军:“SpecialistsbriefaboutpreventingandcuringofSARS–don’tmisuseChinesemedicine,boilinaproperway”“专家提示预防非典—中药勿滥服煎服应得法”,RenminRibao,April18,2003.
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XuJinzhang胥金章,HuangXianbin黄献斌:“ToguardagainstSARSoneshouldfollowthe“fourdiligent”“防范非典要做到“四勤三好””,RenminRibao,April19,2003.LiuTaishan刘泰山,MaoHaowen冒浩文:“HowtoeffectivelypreventSARSinthecommunity?”“社区怎样有效防非典?”,RenminRibao,April22,2003.HuYonghua胡永华:“Humanityhavethepowertoconquerallkindsofinfectiousdiseases”“人类有能力征服各种传染病”,RenminRibao,April23,2003.ZhuYu朱玉,ZhangJingyong张景勇:“WhydosomeSARSpatientsdieatonce,whilemostcompletelyrecover?”“为何有的非典患者很快死亡而大多数人能痊愈?”,RenminRibao,April20,2003.MinistryofHealthinRenminRibao:“TheMinistryofHealthrequestastrengtheningoftheorganisingoftheresearchworktofindthecauseofSARS,scientistsfromaroundtheworldisintensifyingitsresearchonthecauseofSARS”“卫生部要求加强非典型肺炎病原学研究的管理,世界各国科学家正加紧研究非典型肺炎的病原”,April14,2003.LiuSiyang刘思扬:“WhenHuJintaowasonaninspectiontriptotheAcademyofMilitaryMedicalSciencesandtheChineseAcademyofSciencesheencouragedtheresearcherstocarryforwardthespiritofpatriotismandinaspiritofbenefitingthepeoplemakeuseofscientificstrengthtowinoverSARS”“胡锦涛考察军事医学科学院和中科院时勉励科研人员发扬爱国奉献勇攀高峰为民造福精神运用科学力量战胜非典型肺炎疫情”,RenminRibao,April21,2003.WangShujun王淑军:“NoneedtobeafraidofSARSaslongasoneproperlypreventsandtreats”“非典型肺炎做好防治不足惧”,RenminRibao,April4th,2003.LuoChunhua罗春华:“SARSwillbesubduedoneday”“降服非典会有时”,RenminRibao,April24,2003.BaiJianfeng白剑峰:“TheCommunistPartyisatforefront–afrontlinereportfromthepreventionandcuringofSARSworkattheSino‐JapaneseFriendshipHospital”“共产党员冲在最前面—来自中日友好医院防治非典一线的报告”,RenminRibao,April21,2003.GongWen龚雯:“岂容借疫情发“黑心财”“Howcanwetoleratethattheepidemicsituationisusedtomakemoneyinasinisterway”,RenminRibao,April18,2003.(Originaltext:“对破坏市场秩序的“黑心”经营者,依法处治,决不手软”)ZhuJianhong朱剑红:“TheNationalCommitteeofDevelopmentandReformstartsaspecialinvestigationintopricesofmedicinesandrelatedproducts”“国家发展和改革委员会—开展非典药品和相关商品价格专项检查”,RenminRibao,April23,2003.ZhangXiaosong张晓松:WhenbuyingandtakingChinesemedicine,oneshouldreadtheinstructionindetail–donotreadilyplacetrustin“miracledrugs”forpreventingSARS”“购买服用中药应细读说明书莫轻信预防非典“特效药”,RenminRibao,April23,2003.
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LiuTaishan刘泰山,MaoHaowen冒浩文:“Handlewithacoolhead,makepersistentefforts,fulfilassignedtasks,don’tshouldertooheavytasks,GuangdongisinfullforcecarryingouttheSARSpreventionandcuringwork””沉着应对再接再厉不辱使命不负重托 广东全力以赴做好非典型肺炎防治工作”,RenminRibao,April19,2003.XinhuainRenminRibao:“TheStateCouncilpressofficeiscarryingoutapressconference–deputyministerofthestandingcommitteeoftheMinistryofHealth,GaoQiangetc.answersjournalist’saboutthesituationofpreventingandcuringSARS”“国务院新闻办公室举行新闻发布会卫生部常务副部长高强等就非典型肺炎防治情况答记者问”,April21,2003.XinhuainRenminRibao:“Inthemidstofcrisis,unionisstrength–peopleofthewholecountryareresistingSARSinaconcertedeffort–anonspotreport”“危难中,我们众志成城—全国人民齐心协力抗击非典纪实”,April24,2003. 2008: CengHuafeng曾华锋,ZuoYa左娅:“InfantsinGansugotkidneystonesfromdrinkingbabyformula–theMinistryofHealthishighlysuspectingcontaminationofbabyformula–SanluCompanyisrecallspartsofitsbabyformula”“甘肃婴儿喝奶粉患结石,卫生部高度怀疑奶粉污染,三鹿公司召回部分奶粉”,RenminRibao,September12,2008.XinhuainRenminRibao:“Itispreliminaryassumedthatunlawfulelementshaveaddedmelaminetorawmilk–Beijing,HubeiandHunanetc.hasalsoreceivedreportsofinstances”“初步认定不法分子在原奶中添加三聚氰胺 北京湖北湖南等地也接到病例报告”,September13,2008.WangJunping王君平:“SeverelyhandlingSanlubabyformulacase,theStatecouncilisactivatingthehighestlevelofresponseforlargenationalfoodsafetyaccidents,establishingurgentsmallleadershipgrouptodealwithitandgivesfreerescueandcuringforthesickened”“严肃处理三鹿婴幼儿奶粉事件国务院启动国家重大食品安全事故Ⅰ级响应成立应急处置领导小组对患病婴幼儿免费救治”,RenminRibao,September14,2008.ZouYa左娅:“PublicationoftheresultsofaperiodicspecialinvestigationformelamineinSanlu'sinfantformula”“婴幼儿配方奶粉三聚氰胺专项检查阶段性检查结果公布”,RenminRibao,September17,2008.WangJunping王君平:“TheMinistryofHealthissearchingatmaximumscaleforinfantsthathaveconsumedSanlu’sbabyformula”“卫生部‐最大限度搜索服用三鹿问题奶粉患儿”,RenminRibao,September17.RenminRibao:“ThespokespersonoftheMinistryofForeignAffairsisansweringjournalist’squestionsabouttheSanlucase”“就三鹿奶粉有关问题 外交部发言人答记者问”,September17,2008.
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FengHua冯华:“Safemilkneedstobeprotectedsystematically–interviewwithLiuChengguo,directorofChinaDairyIndustryAssociation”“放心奶需要机制保障—访中国奶业协会理事长刘成果”,RenminRibao,September21,2008.WangBixue王比学:“Whowillrecallunsafeproducts”“谁来召回不安全食品”,RenminRibao,September17,2008.XinhuainRenminRibao:“WenJiabaoleadsanexecutivemeetingattheStateCouncil,decidestofullymonitordairyproducts,andreorganisethedairyindustry”“温家宝主持召开国务院常务会议,决定全面检查奶制品,整顿奶制品行业”,September18,2008.SuXianlong苏显龙:“AfterthecancellationoftheselectionofChinaFamousBrand”“名牌评选取消之后”,RenminRibao,September23,2008.ShiGuosheng石国胜:“Howtoinspectwhennot“exemptedfrominspection””“不“免检”如何检?”,RenminRibao,September24,2008.LuoGuojun骆国骏:“Hebei–theresponsiblefortheSanlucasearedealtwithaccordingtoPartyprotocol”“河北–“三鹿奶粉事故”有关责任人受到组织处理”,RenminRibao,September17,2008.WangFangjie王方杰:“SanluGroup’schairwomanandgeneralmanager,TianWenhua,isputundercriminaldetention”“三鹿集团原董事长总经理田文华被刑事拘留”,RenminRibao,September18,2008.PengBo彭波:“Another12criminalsuspectsinHebeiarecaught”“河北又有十二名犯罪嫌疑人落网”,RenminRibao,September19,2008.WuYan吴焰:“Respectthepopularwill’srequestforaccountability”“尊重民意的问责“,RenminRibao,September24,2008.WangMinghao王明浩:“ThespokespersonofShijiazhuangCitygovernment–onwhytheSanlubabyformulacasewasdelayed”“石家庄市政府新闻发言人—三鹿奶粉事件为何迟报”,RenminRibao,October1,2008.LiBin李斌,HuangJinquan黄全权:“Weshallberesponsibletothepeople–WenJiabaovisitschildrenillfromthe“Sanlumilkformulacase”inBeijingandinspectsdairyproductmarkets”“我们要对人民负责—温家宝在北京看望“奶粉事件”患病儿童并考察奶制品市场”,RenminRibaoSeptember22,2008.
JiangHongbing姜泓冰:“Scientificdevelopmentisofutmosturgency”“科学发展迫在眉睫”,RenminRibao,September22,2008.LiShijia李诗佳,WangJiangang王建刚:“WenJiabaohadaninformaltalkwiththeleadersoflocalChineselanguagemediainAmerica”“温家宝与美当地华文媒体负责人座谈”,RenminRibao,September26,2008.
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NanfangZhoumo2003:ChenMin陈海,JiangHua江华:“Guangzhouisstrugglingagainstanunknownvirus”“广州抗击不明病毒”,NanfangZhoumoFebruary13,2003.WuZhanguang吴展光:“InterviewwithanexpertatChineseCentreforDiseaseControlandPrevention–howtohandleahuge,suddenlyemergingpublichealthcrisis?”“国家疾病预防控制中心专家访谈重大突发公共卫生事件如何处理?”,NanfangZhoumo,February13,2003.LiYiyan李一言:“Fearstopswithopenness”“恐慌止于公开”,NanfangZhoumo,February13,2003.LiHujun李虎军,GuoGuangdong郭光东:“WhatdoweleanontowinoverSARS?”“我们靠什么战胜”非典”?”,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.LuRong卢嵘,DuJunxiao杜峻晓:“Ningxiaistryingtoblock“SARS””“宁夏追堵”非典””,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.WuZhanguang吴展光,ZhengYigong(ShanxiFinancialDaily)郑亦工(山西经济日报记者):“XingcountyinShanxi–arecordfromapoorcounty’sSARSstruggle”“山西兴县一个贫困县的抗非典纪录”,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.LiuHongbo刘洪波:“The“atypical”caseofHaicheng”“海城的”非典型事件””,NanfangZhoumo,April24,2003.2008:YangXiaohui杨小卉:”Howtomonitorthesafetyoffoodproducts”“安全食品的监管之道”,NanfangZhoumo,September18,2008.XiaoXun笑蜀:“Countlesspublicrelationsshowthedegenerationofmedia”“无量公关凸显媒体病变”,NanfangZhoumo,September18,2008.SuYongtong苏永通,MaChangbo马昌博:“LiZhangjiangresigns,onemorestepforward”“李长江辞职,下一步……”,NanfangZhoumo,September25,2008.NanfangZhoumo:“Awellrungovernmentshouldnothavestormsofaccountability”“善治政府不该有问责风暴”,September25,2008.SuYongtong,苏永通,XueTian薛田:“Threecontroversialaspectsoftheselectionof“Chinafamousbrand””““中国名牌”评选三大争议”,NanfangZhoumo,September25,2008.
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SuYongtong,苏永通,XueTian薛田:“HowtodealwithqualityproblemsofFamousbrandproducts”“名牌展品出现质量问题怎么办”,NanfangZhoumo,September25,2008.DingBuZhi丁补之,ZhaoLei赵蕾,WuYao吴瑶:““Thetaintedbabymilkformulacasecallsforacompensationpackage”“毒奶粉事件呼唤一揽子赔偿方案”,NanfangZhoumo,September2,2008.HeFeng禾风,JiaSiyu贾思玉:“Chinesemilkindustry:Fromeightgoldenyearstoacompletemess””中国奶业:黄金八年,一地鸡毛”,NanfangZhoumo,October9,2008.XuNan徐楠:“Revisitingachaoticscene:‘milkblenders’,connectionsandstupidcows”“乱象回溯:“调奶人”,“关系奶”和“傻子牛””,NanfangZhoumo,October9,2008.ZhangJunXiu张俊修,MengDengKe孟登科,WangXia王霞:“Thegovernmentshouldnotmakesupervisingunitsinto“moneymakingsons”“政府部门不能把检测单位变成收钱的”儿子””,NanfangZhoumo,October9,2008.
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