In the face of the milk crisis in China, bloggers say they have been censored and the media has been manipulated. A number of bloggers have reported journalists covering the tainted milk powder scandal and global financial crisis have received strict orders about what they can report.

Global Voices Online has a translation of a Chinese language blog about new instructions sent to newsrooms:

" … Employees in the China Central Television said they received notice last Friday saying that they should only use news release from Xinhua News. Some reporters said they did receive notice asking them not to report comments and news related to children's kidney stone cases due to the poisoned powdered milk products …"

They also quote another blogger angry about how Xinhua, China's state run news agency, stopped running critical stories about the milk powder scandal and began running positive reports and eulogising government efforts. "This is a tragedy for hundred of thousands families."

Shift from the negative

Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post reports that Chinese authorities, wanting to stem discontent over the market crisis, are censoring the financial media, writes a blogger at Shanghaiist.

" … SCMP reports that perennial fears of social disunity have led the Communist Party's Publicity Department …to verbally inform major financial websites to sift out negative and sensitive commentaries, reports and headlines about the hard-hit markets. There is no paper trail backing up such claims, but editors of online financial media have confirmed them …"

Curbing expression

It's not just news outlets being ordered to rein in their reporting and watch their words.

Chinese Internet service providers (ISP) are often ordered to curb the freedom of expression of online users, says Reporters Without Borders.

They quote a recent report from Chinese Human Rights Defenders which has examples, including an edict to Internet providers that they not say anything about a demonstration organised by foreigners outside the International Olympic Committee.

Hollow promises

The report mentions another directive to the ISPs to delete from all sites the phrase: "Just one world, just one web and human rights: our appeals and recommendations for the Olympic Games."

Promises that the hosting of the Olympics would bring media freedoms to China seemed to have been pretty hollow.