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Southern Weekend: The government is something of an agent who likes to be praised. If a country’s media are full of the sound of praise, do you think it is a good thing for the government? He Weifang: It is definitely not a good thing. It is true that the government is like an agent in some ways, and the government is a multilayer system comprising the central government, local governments, and grassroots governments. It is very important for governments at higher levels to have effective control of governments at lower levels. In the absence of such effective control, the governments at lower levels will have their own way and resort to various malpractices, and if the relationship between all levels of governments is confined to the transmission of formal documents, such malpractices of the lower governments will not be exposed. The central government wishes to know the real conditions in the provinces. For example, it very much wants to know why there are so many people going to Beijing to petition, and it hopes that local governments will do a better job. However, if they make inspections in the provinces, they will only be shown good, but unreal, things. I remember when Hu Yaobang made inspections in the provinces; he used to leave aside his entourage and made it a point not to inspect where arrangements had already been made by the local governments, and he preferred to acquaint himself with the real local 175 chapter eight Freedom of the Press: A Necessary Condition for Social Stability in China Author’s note: The original Chinese version of this chapter is based on my interview with Lin Chufang, a correspondent of Southern Weekend, which was published on February 28, 2003. Also see http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_48866320010003cl.html. 09-2290-9 ch08_Yu 10/22/12 10:33 AM Page 175 conditions incognito.1 This approach can solve some problems; but in modern society, many problems cannot be solved this way. In this regard, the media can play an important role in addressing this information asymmetry. So the right approach is to reduce restrictions on the media. If the media are controlled by all levels of government, there will be no criticism heard. Southern Weekend: What is the consequence of the truth being hidden? He Weifang: If the national media only concern themselves with the activities of national leaders rather than focus on the news proper, the local media will follow suit. The result is that when you watch the local TV programs , there is nothing but whom the county party secretary or county head is meeting with and what conferences are held and the like, copying exactly the pattern of the national media. If all media are filled with such reports, we cannot see through them to the real conditions of society. And if the real side of a society, especially negative situations, is hidden, it is a very dangerous thing, like putting the country on top of a volcano. This is especially so in China, a country with a long tradition of centralized authority. Due to information asymmetry, many officials only answer to their superiors, with little pressure from ordinary citizens. Government supervision of the media and an absence of institutional restraints on power will only make things worse. An Open Media Environment Is a Basic Condition for Social Stability Southern Weekend: There is an oft-heard assertion that if the media are given too much freedom, they will cause social disturbances. Is it so? He Weifang: More often than not, social disturbances are caused by suppression rather than openness of the media. On the other hand, there is the difference between a lesser evil and a greater evil: disclosure of disastrous events caused through the negligence of the government may lead to public dissatisfaction and even radical protests, but these minor disturbances may prevent greater disturbances that may result if channels for communicating dissatisfaction are suppressed, and good citizens are forced to turn to violence in despair. The latter scenario can be very horrible. An important part of the social stability mechanism is to give the people the means to vent their dissatisfaction, just as the old saying goes, “To block peoples’ mouths is worse than blocking a river.” In this respect, the media play an important role. Therefore, greater media freedom is by no means a 176 legal protection of free speech 09-2290-9 ch08_Yu 10/22/12 10:33 AM Page 176...

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