customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Kristine Kwok

North Korea’s missile launch and nuclear test where shots heard around the world, setting off a torrent of news coverage and analysis about the hermit kingdom. But in China, the tests caused barely a ripple of controversy, with reporters more cautious than ever about covering the country’s wayward neighbour.
There has long been a red line in the sand about what mainland journalists can write on China’s communist ally. That line is drawn by state censors and the press itself, and follows the contours of the complex bilateral relationship, journalists and researchers say.
“There have long been restrictions on [reporting] North Korea. We only follow Xinhua, so you basically can’t find any [original] reporting on North Korea in our paper,” a reporter with a popular Guangdong newspaper said.
READ MORE: US, China agree on UN resolution on North Korea’s nuclear weapons test, says White House
The explicit restrictions came from provincial propaganda authorities but self-censorship played a part, the reporter said.
The newspaper, as well as many other mainstream media, covered the nuclear test in January and the missile launch earlier this month using reports from central media such as Xinhua and China News Service.

There was space for a pinch of original reporting but journalists tended not to push the envelope, according to another reporter
“We could interview scholars for analysis on issues such as North Korea’s strategic intentions,” the reporter said. “But blatantly criticising North Korea is out of the question.”
The careful treatment this time round reflected just how sensitive bilateral ties had become, reporters and analysts said.

Two journalists said a mainland newspaper once published commentaries critical of North Korea, only for Pyongyang to complain to Beijing about the paper. It was unclear if the newspaper was reprimanded but one journalist said the incident reinforced the idea among some reporters that North Korea was a subject too sensitive to cover.
Qiao Mu, dean of Beijing Foreign Studies University’s Centre for International Communication Studies, said attacking North Korea’s political system was banned because it could raise questions about China’s authoritarian politics. Otherwise, Qiao said, the restrictions on reporting was more due to self-censorship.
READ MORE: China, Japan ‘plan talks over North Korea’s nuclear test and rocket launch’
But others see the restrictions as an effort by Beijing to maintain ties with Pyongyang.
South Korean media reported a car crash in which a drink-driving North Korean diplomat allegedly killed three Chinese citizens in Dandong, Liaoning. The diplomat reportedly got drunk at a banquet celebrating Pyongyang’s missile launch.
The story was not picked up by mainland media but it was circulated on several online forums. Several journalists said the incident, even if verified, would unlikely to make it to print because of its sensitivity.
Lee Seong-hyon, a research fellow with the Sejong Institute in South Korea, said the media blackout was sign of Beijing’s desire to improve ties with Pyongyang despite growing public wariness in China of tolerating an unpredictable ally.
READ MORE: China’s mishandling of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions may come back to haunt it
“It doesn’t want a specific incident to derail or undermine the Sino-North Korean relationship,” Lee said.“For China, North Korea is a nuisance but not its major threat. China thinks the US is its prime existential threat.”
Despite the censorship of mainstream media, information – however unverified – still gets through to the Chinese public via social media platforms, which are less subject to state scrutiny.
In an editorial after the missile launch, Global Times said more Chinese people were changing their views on North Korea.
“A very important trend is, more and more Chinese no longer see North Korea as a friendly country, and a lot of them consider it a burden to China, some even said it’s a ‘bad neighbour’,” the editorial said.


Suspect in Japanese boy’s stabbing is jobless with criminal record, Chinese media says

Kanye West’s upcoming China concert draws sarcastic rebukes on social media

Rock ’n’ roll, internet are potential Western ‘colour revolution’ traps: Chinese textbook

China’s censorship of voices critical of proposed cyberspace ID sets a worrying precedent

Censorship in China

China’s thick red media line on what journalists can write about communist ally North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends the test-fire of an anti-tank guided weapon. China is sensitive over what its journalist write about its communist ally. Photo: Reuters