back to article China's censors censor press censorship report

China’s "Ministry of Truth" has been busy again today, ordering websites inside the Great Firewall to delete all mention of its lowly position, fifth bottom, on the latest Press Freedom Index report from Reporters Without Borders. The directive from the State Council Information Office on Tuesday, obtained by China Digital …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Fluctuations.

    1. Graham Marsden
      Coat

      Same to...

      ... you Europeans!

      (Copyright Benny Hill ;-) )

  2. John Tserkezis

    Due to circumstances beyond our control, this comment has been ████████

  3. Code Monkey
    Headmaster

    "Australia fared best in 28th"

    I would suggest that 27 countries fared better.

    1. Paw Bokenfohr

      Re: "Australia fared best in 28th"

      He probably meant to add "of the limited number of countries where The Reg has a presence"

      1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

        Re: "Australia fared best in 28th"

        Canada came in at 18th place. Up two, after being down 10 (!) thanks to journalistic interference during the "Maple Spring" incident.

  4. Sir Runcible Spoon
    Coat

    Sir

    "China at 175th"

    News just in, China has dropped 5 places in 'shoots own foot' schoolboy error. Barbara, you have been summoned.

    1. Allan George Dyer
      Big Brother

      Re: Sir

      Barbara has been refused a Chinese visa.

      Sir Runcible, I doubt Beijing is worried about what foreign press says about them, but they do have a tight hold on the local press.

      1. Vociferous

        Re: Sir

        > I doubt Beijing is worried about what foreign press says about them

        Oh but they are. You'll also find Chinese 50-centers on big English-language fora like Reddit, doing damage control whenever there's negative publicity.

        It's pretty much universally so that oppressive dictatorships are very thin-skinned.

  5. Allan George Dyer
    Black Helicopters

    HK press is reporting the report, not the censorship

    Not too bad here yet:

    http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1426666/beijing-blamed-hong-kongs-press-freedom-declines

    But no mention of China censoring the report.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What I want to know is - what on earth did Eritrea do to get beaten by North Korea in a press freedom ranking?! That's like getting beaten by Saudi Arabia for 'best nude beach'!

    1. Bumpy Cat

      Eritrea is known as "the North Korea of Africa". I think the difference is that North Korea actually has a press, which occasionally reports on things that really happened. Eritrea doesn't even have that - there isn't even a single foreign reporter in the country.

    2. Vociferous

      > what on earth did Eritrea do to get beaten by North Korea in a press freedom ranking?!

      Imprison droves of journalists + ban all independent media. The only media in the country are published by the propaganda ministery.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I wasn't under the impression that there is any independent media in NK either, though - or really any independent much of anything. I mean, even if it's not hard journalism, what are they going to do - have Good Housekeeping with the top 10 holiday tree bark recipes? Road & Track's oxcart of the year? PC Magazine reporting on rumors that someone in the country has a PC? :P

  7. John Savard

    As long as China censors the Internet, it should not be permitted to export any computer-related products to the rest of the world. The sybolism of this trade sanction would be fitting, and it would impact their ability to subsidize their electronics sector - relevant to military uses - from consumer purchases.

    1. Sir Runcible Spoon

      Unfortunately any sanctions against China would send the global economy into the gutter. Probably so far that it would be easier to build afresh than rescue it.

      1. Vociferous

        > any sanctions against China would send the global economy into the gutter

        Also the Chinese economy, which presumably the Chinese government would be very highly motivated to avoid.

        1. NumptyScrub

          quote: "Also the Chinese economy, which presumably the Chinese government would be very highly motivated to avoid."

          Given that China is very carefully pushing loads of cash back at us by purchasing western (e.g. US) government bonds and the like, they are actually propping up all the fuckwits over here that are making the idiot decisions in the first place. Yes, if they just kept the money and let the local currency rapidly appreciate, they'd find themselves having economic issues as western companies stopped getting stuff manufactured there, but the west would be the one that properly nosedived into the cesspit (economically speaking).

          IMO of course, but of the 2 concomitant processes, I believe that the US (and Europe) would come out far, far worse off than China for it. They (China) are the ones covering these comical national debts we all have over here, using the money we give them to make stuff for us... :(

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How ironic.....

    RSF is barred for us at work by Symantec cloud.. Welcome to the world free west big business.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How ironic.....

      I might be going out on a limb here, but it's possible - just *possible* - that a private employer using a web filter is different from, say, a government jailing or executing reporters.

      I mean, it's just little details - private company vs. government, waiting until you get home vs. being hauled up against a wall and shot by a firing squad... But sometimes it's the little things that really matter, don't you think?

  9. Vociferous

    Quis censor ipsos censores?

    Pig latin, but you get the gist.

  10. Cheshire Cat
    Trollface

    Hoorway for the Kiwis

    New Zealand, homeland of the BoFH, is in at 9th. Take that, Sweden.

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