Already one of the most censored in the world, the Chinese media is facing even more restrictions under a bill drafted by the government to enable fines for newspapers that report emergencies without official approval.

Media outlets could face fines ranging from £3,500 to £7,000 if they fail to seek permission from local authorities before reporting about riots, disasters, strikes or outbreaks of disease.

Local governments will be required to disseminate information on emergencies in a timely manner, but not if the reports would affect the handling of a crisis. The official Xinhua news agency said that the Bill was a reaction to errors in the handling of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in 2003.

Which is a bit of a dishonest argument, to say the least, given that the failures to react appropriately to SARS stemmed from the attempts by the Chinese government to cover it up.

It had been expected that the censors would relax their controls to prevent a recurrence of the embarrassing incident, but the officials who are charged with vetting information available to the public have tightened their grip in recent months.

Sounds like avoiding embarrasement is still more important to China’s leaders than responding to crises.

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