By Lydia Lee, Shanghai
Chapter on Media – This is not a 5-second delay country

We all hear about censorship in China, but to see it first-hand is an eye opening and chilling experience.

Last June 4, I was traveling to Guangzhou, one of the so called first-tier cities in southern China. While resting in the hotel room, I came across the CNN channel, which by the way, is only available in 4 to 5 star hotels in China, as well as through a few illegal satellite providers whose penetration rate in China is miniscule. One of the headlines of that day was the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square, which every year is only commemorated overseas and never in China. As the commercials ended and the cameras returned to the anchor’s desk, as soon as she pronounced “Today marks the 17th anniversary of T-i-a-n-an…” the screen went black. The screen remained black for the next minute and a half, before returning to updates from the then-upcoming World Cup news.

Most of the people in the US are aware of the 5-second delay that resulted from the Janet Jackson incident. That 5-second was created not to censor, but to avoid any inappropriate on-screen behavior to be shown. Yet the one that I experienced in Guangzhou is censorship to the fullest. I learned that the government has a department with people watching TV 24 hours a day with their fingers poised over the “off” button. That finger will come thundering down onto that button when any negative words are uttered on air about China.

When I shared this story to my Chinese friends, they seemed indifferent, as this is part of growing up, of living in China, watching state controlled TV for the last 50 years and learning not to trust them. When I ask where they go for “real news”, the internet is by far the best choice, although access is also limited. Just last week, the Chinese government shut down an outspoken website apparently because of the reported killing of a villager trying to stop a demolition of his home by the local officials. The government has even started monitoring and controlling blogs. The phrase “Big Brother is watching you” actually means something over here.

Yet life goes on in China. Ordinary people’s lives are not really affected by censorship, as there are other things to worry about – tagging along with the economic boom, corruption, Beijing Olympics, etc… From their perspective, life is not so bad even if they don’t get real news.

You might ask: “How does this macro-situation affect a PR professional?” Well, the answer is to play by the rules and always be alert on new media policies. Try to align your messages with the government’s missions for the wellbeing of the society. This might sound a bit corny, but for a country with 1.3 billion people, stability is key.

China is not a 5-second delay country. This is a country that can afford to delay more than 5 seconds for the sake of stability.