Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Monday, September 11, 2006

A Policy Making Environment

Two articles about China, one from the BBC and one from the New York Times. What hypotheses would your students make about the connections between the two? What evidence and logic would they use to support those hypotheses? Where would they find supporting facts?


China trade surplus at new high

"China's trade surplus with the rest of the world reached a record $18.8bn (£10bn) in August, beating both July's $14.6bn record and analysts' forecasts...

"The latest figure brings China's 2006 global trade surplus to $95.6bn so far...

"US figures suggest that the growing trade imbalance with the United States is a major factor..."


China Puts Stricter Limits on Distribution of Foreign News

"China imposed broad new restrictions Sunday on the distribution of foreign news in the country, beefing up state regulations on the news media.

"Under new rules that were said to take effect immediately, the state-run New China News Agency said it would become the de facto gatekeeper for foreign news reports, photographs and graphics entering China. The agency announced in its own dispatch that it would censor content that endangers 'national security.'...

1 Comments:

At 8:17 PM, Blogger Ken Wedding said...

John Jenkins recommends a much better article on this topic from the Christian Science Monitor.

China reins in reach of foreign news

"A commercial power play or another blow to press freedom?...

""Economically, Xinhua will benefit from these rules. Politically, it's also a very efficient way to control (the media), as Xinhua will only send out what it sees fit," says Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project at Berkeley University. "China is more connected to the world and part of the global economy, but in the media, there's more and more government control."..."

A helpful sidebar offers background on Xinhua and a link to a Reporters Without Borders report on "Xinhua: the world’s biggest propaganda agency."

 

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