ASIA-PACIFIC 
Journalists told to tone down school coverage
Wednesday, 4 June, 2008
Parents of pupils killed when Xinjian primary school collapsed in the quake cry during a commemoration of Children's Day on the rubble-strewn school campus in Dujiangyan, Sichuan province. (Getty Images)
Chinese news reporters have been told to tone down coverage of protests over shoddy school construction in areas devastated by last month's earthquake, two journalists told AFP.
They said their bosses this week told them to stop reporting on protests over low-quality school construction, exposed when the May 12 quake caused a large number of school buildings to collapse.
"They said we must be more careful about what we report on," a journalist told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another reporter working in the quake area told AFP he had been issued similar orders.
They said it marked a clear change after China had previously allowed unusually unrestricted reporting on the earthquake and its aftermath.
Some 9,000 school children and teachers are among the dead, buried or missing in the earthquake, state press said late last month.
Critics have argued that many school buildings were not built to withstand earthquakes, as official corruption had made it possible for contractors to cut corners and use substandard materials.
The death toll from China's earthquake rose on Tuesday to 69,107, with another 18,230 missing, the government said. The new toll, given by the state-run Xinhua news agency, marked an increase of 88 from the day before.
Source: AFP/SBS
They said their bosses this week told them to stop reporting on protests over low-quality school construction, exposed when the May 12 quake caused a large number of school buildings to collapse.
"They said we must be more careful about what we report on," a journalist told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another reporter working in the quake area told AFP he had been issued similar orders.
They said it marked a clear change after China had previously allowed unusually unrestricted reporting on the earthquake and its aftermath.
Some 9,000 school children and teachers are among the dead, buried or missing in the earthquake, state press said late last month.
Critics have argued that many school buildings were not built to withstand earthquakes, as official corruption had made it possible for contractors to cut corners and use substandard materials.
The death toll from China's earthquake rose on Tuesday to 69,107, with another 18,230 missing, the government said. The new toll, given by the state-run Xinhua news agency, marked an increase of 88 from the day before.
Source: AFP/SBS
