media - Editing Chinese style

A nice and detailed look at the way the China Daily edits articles by Iain Marlow in the Toronoto Star (here in a copy by Howard French' Glimpse of the World). What happenend when he interviewed an Canadian professor in political philosophy, Daniel A. Bell.

An English copy editor called me over to clarify some details; he then separated vast swathes of my article, turned to me, and said, “This is China Daily. We just don’t, you know, say this.” It seemed that some foreigners were almost more anxious to axe controversy than our Chinese colleagues.

Is sounds all too familiar. It should underline that the trust some people still have in what the 'official' media are writing have any relationship with reality.

Near the end I included the professor’s suggestion for Confucian-styled democratic reform: a bicameral legislature with two houses, the highest being elected by competitive exams. Sexy, huh?
Strangely, this was left untouched. The editors probably assumed anyone among China Daily’s readership who made it that far either would not understand it, would not care, or would have grown up under a democratic system.