No Truth For All The Tea In China

• A deputy governor has his wife killed and chopped into pieces, conspiring with a local mayor. The media doesn't cover the story.
  
  
• Police negligence results in the deaths of 100 school children. No story appears.
  
  
• Six villagers murdered in raging battles with goon gangs recruited by power companies to kick them off their land. The media ignore it.

Oh, it must be Communist China, that people's paradise where The Party's iron grip protects the people from any news that might reflect negatively on the efficiency and goodness of the Chinese government. The so-called "Nation of the 21st Century" does not have freedoms worthy of this century, and has no intention of liberalizing its policy. In fact, it's getting tougher, according to the UK's Media Guardian:

The Communist party's propaganda department lists stories which must not be published. Several journalists confirmed such lists exist, but warned that providing copies could be considered a breach of state security. In quiet weeks, lists contain few subjects: typically, Taiwan, Tibet or religious freedom. At other times, they stretch to 25 or more items: riots, strikes, and alleged affairs of senior leaders. No editor would disobey such orders ...

Last year, three editors from the Nanfang [newspaper] group - Yu Huafeng, Li Minying, and Cheng Yizhong - were imprisoned on fraud charges, an act of revenge by the local public security bureau embarrassed by scoops about police brutality and corruption. Many reporters lost their jobs when the authorities closed down the 21st Century Herald and the New Herald. "It's very traumatic. I don't want to have to go through that again," said a veteran. "Now, every time a sensitive story comes in, I'm nervous. To be a good journalist in China, you can't just be an idealist; you must be a realist too." (h/t Media Bistro)

The same rule of thumb -- stay under the thumb -- applies to the citizens who live under the Party's rule. And with Microsoft and Yahoo aiding and abetting the commies, the repression stretches to the Internet, too. It makes you wonder how long the good citizens will stay good; how long the good journalists will stay good.