Nov 18, 2009
Censors didn't spare Obama from cuts
BEIJING: United States President Barack Obama, taking questions on Monday from government- selected students at a town hall-style meeting in Shanghai, called himself 'a big supporter of non-censorship'.
But the Beijing government, apparently, is not - and most Chinese never got to hear or read what Mr Obama said. His talk to the students - billed by the White House as the marquee event of his first trip to China - was never mentioned on China's main official 7pm news broadcast.
The session at the Museum of Science and Technology was broadcast live by only one small Shanghai television station. It was also streamed on two popular Internet portals within China and on the White House's website - which is not censored, though both the video and audio feeds were choppy and delayed within China.
Most news websites also deleted stories on the US leader taking a question about Internet freedom.
Mr Obama was asked for his thoughts on the Chinese government blocking several international websites, such as Twitter and YouTube, as well as critical news sites. 'I've always been a strong supporter of open Internet use,' he said.
The question, and his answer, appeared almost immediately as a top news story on the official Xinhua news agency's website, as well as on several popular Chinese sites. But about an hour later, the stories disappeared. Reports in the Chinese print media yesterday also largely ignored his remarks on 'universal rights' and an uncensored Internet.
While the Shanghai event was called a town hall, Mr Obama's meeting with the students had little in common with the sometimes raucous exchanges that have become a fixture of American politics.
Most of the over 400 students who attended the event were pre-selected, and most appeared to be members of the Chinese Communist Party Youth League. Some Chinese bloggers whom the White House tried to invite were barred from attending.
One student who participated in the meeting said she was trained for four days by the Chinese government - and told not to ask questions about Tibet or human rights.
But the limited access to the town hall meeting did little to dampen the enthusiasm of some Obama fans. Said high school graduate Shi Tingchong, 19, who waited outside the venue: 'I think he is someone who can really listen to us. Chinese government leaders just read from what's written down on documents.'
Censors didn't spare Obama from cuts
BEIJING: United States President Barack Obama, taking questions on Monday from government- selected students at a town hall-style meeting in Shanghai, called himself 'a big supporter of non-censorship'.
But the Beijing government, apparently, is not - and most Chinese never got to hear or read what Mr Obama said. His talk to the students - billed by the White House as the marquee event of his first trip to China - was never mentioned on China's main official 7pm news broadcast.
The session at the Museum of Science and Technology was broadcast live by only one small Shanghai television station. It was also streamed on two popular Internet portals within China and on the White House's website - which is not censored, though both the video and audio feeds were choppy and delayed within China.
Most news websites also deleted stories on the US leader taking a question about Internet freedom.
Mr Obama was asked for his thoughts on the Chinese government blocking several international websites, such as Twitter and YouTube, as well as critical news sites. 'I've always been a strong supporter of open Internet use,' he said.
The question, and his answer, appeared almost immediately as a top news story on the official Xinhua news agency's website, as well as on several popular Chinese sites. But about an hour later, the stories disappeared. Reports in the Chinese print media yesterday also largely ignored his remarks on 'universal rights' and an uncensored Internet.
While the Shanghai event was called a town hall, Mr Obama's meeting with the students had little in common with the sometimes raucous exchanges that have become a fixture of American politics.
Most of the over 400 students who attended the event were pre-selected, and most appeared to be members of the Chinese Communist Party Youth League. Some Chinese bloggers whom the White House tried to invite were barred from attending.
One student who participated in the meeting said she was trained for four days by the Chinese government - and told not to ask questions about Tibet or human rights.
But the limited access to the town hall meeting did little to dampen the enthusiasm of some Obama fans. Said high school graduate Shi Tingchong, 19, who waited outside the venue: 'I think he is someone who can really listen to us. Chinese government leaders just read from what's written down on documents.'
