Regulatory changes in China against evolving media freedoms

Scholars and commentators who argued that the “forth generation” of Chinese leadership under Hu Jintao would allow greater press freedom have been proved wrong repeatedly. There is no freedom of the press in China. Reports of the heavy-handed tactics used by the government to keep the media under control are as unsettling as they are common. China remains a difficult and dangerous place in which to operate as a journalist. Despite the country’s rapid economic modernization this fact has not changed, nor can it be expected to under the current leadership. The truth of this has been made abundantly clear by the sweeping regulatory changes introduced over the past nine months that seek to cement government control over the entire media sector by banishing private and foreign influence and striking out once again at the Internet.