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Media censorship is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes, but much of the motivation and practices of autocratic media censorship still remain opaque to the public. Using a dataset of 1,403 secret censorship directives issued by the Chinese propaganda apparatus, I examine the censorship practices in contemporary China. My findings suggest that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is gradually adjusting its censorship practices from restricting unfavorable reports to a strategy of "conditional public opinion guidance." Over the years, the propaganda apparatus has banned fewer reports but guided more of them. However, this softer approach of regulating news is not equally enforced on every report or by different censorship authorities. First, the party tends to ban news that directly threatens the legitimacy of the regime. In addition, due to the speed with which news and photographs can be posted online, the authorities that regulate news on the Internet are more likely to ban unfavorable reports, compared with authorities that regulate slower-moving traditional media. Lastly, local leaders seeking promotions have more incentive to hide negative news within their jurisdictions than their central-level counterparts, who use media to identify misconduct among their local subordinates. Taken together, these characteristics create a strong but fragmented system of media regulation in contemporary China. KEYWORDS: China, censorship, propaganda apparatus, control over media
MEDIA CENSORSHIP IS THE HALLMARK OF AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES, BUT with an enormous increase in flows of information, it becomes increasingly difficult for any state to completely curb news coverage before it reaches the public (Shirk 2007; Xiao 2011). In fact, a number of scholars suggest that access to uncensored information opens societies and empowers citizens with new tools (Huntington 1991; Rustow 1990; Whitehead 1996). If their prediction is true, authoritarian regimes will face a stark choice between either sealing themselves off hermetically or waiting for their demise. However, this is not what we observe in reality. Take the world's largest authoritarian country- China-as an example. The amount of unfavorable news that occurs daily on the country's vast landscapes should make censorship a huge challenge for the Communist Party. Yet, the fact that the regime remained safely in power in the wake of the Arab Spring, Tibetan separationist movements, and numerous local protests indicates the leadership's mastery of control over media....