Press Freedom in China

In today’s class our study group has a debate with group three, the topic is whether press freedom is a western dogma. Our standpoint is agreeing with it, and my assignment is giving proof that there is rare or even press freedom in China. It makes me feel very complicated.

Before the debate when I tried to search some relative information from the internet, most articles about it I got were critical. There was even a report claimed that “China is among the worst offenders. According to the New York City-based Committee to Protect Journalists, China has the highest number of imprisoned journalists -- forty-two -– of any country in the world.”
I don’t agree with that point of view completely, but there is no doubt that the situation in China is not optimistic.

Chinese news is the socialistic journalism. Media organisations, particularly the national media have received the direct leadership of the Central Propaganda Department. And they stressed the party spirit, the party's line, principles and policies as their most important task, so the publicity function is more important than the other functions. And the reported figures tend to heroes, models and other advanced characters.

All those above are the reasons why press freedom in China in under so much limitation. In law and in theory, people have press freedom in China, but actually they rarely can enjoy this right.
These years, some journalists have raised the awareness of press freedom and they do struggling for it, and we can see some progress in it. However, to fulfill the real press freedom in China, they still have a long time to go.