Chinese media censorship activities aren't just limited to overseas occurrences and domestic human rights brutalities. Media censorship in China also extends to trying to spare government agencies from embarrassment.
A week ago, the unfinished Beijing Television Cultural Center was set ablaze by a firework display gone wrong. The blaze ended up claiming the life of a firefighter, but if you lived in mainland China, you wouldn't know much about it.
After the fire, a memo went out to news outlets and blogs ordering them to cease reporting on the fire. Part of the memo can be seen here (scroll down a little).
Why would the Chinese government want to to censor news like this? For one, the tower is owned by CCTV, the government-run national broadcaster. Secondly, the public consensus in China on buildings like the TCC is that they are ugly and a waste of money. The main CCTV headquarters (which you can see here) has been aptly nicknamed by most Chinese people as "The Big Underpants" for its unique yet puzzling design.
The Seattle Times has the best explanation on why the event was censored, suggesting that the initial response to the fire from Chinese citizens, which ranged from amusement to more amusement, was deemed to be inappropriate in the case of a building which is supposed to be a symbol of China's growing media prowess.
-Steve Kwan
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