AsiaMedia (via) reports that Chinese authorities have banned eight books by renowned writers and intellectuals in a new move to tighten control on dissent and stifle discussion of sensitive historical events. Wu Shulin, the deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) also vowed to impose severe punishment on their publishers.

All eight books are reflections by intellectuals on historical and social events of the past six decades, events that have traditionally been subject to tight censorship.

The ban and Mr Wu’s criticism of the books’ publishers were confirmed yesterday by an anonymous publication administration official.

Another administration source said Gapp came up with the ban after the Central Propaganda Department included the books on its 2006 list of “publications that overstepped the line”.

The banned books are:

• Cang Sang by Xiao Jian tells the story of a man in northern Shaanxi from the 1911 Revolution to the Great Leap Forward.
• I Object: The Road to Politics by a People’s Congress Member by journalist Zhu Ling tells of the 12-year struggle of activist Yao Lifa to run for a seat in the local legislature.
• Past Stories of Peking Opera Stars by Zhang Yihe is an account of the lives and deaths of seven Peking Opera artists.
• The Family History of an Ordinary Chinese by Guo Ya describes the experiences of a normal Chinese family during the war of liberation, the Cultural Revolution and other eras.
• The Other Stories of History: My Days at the Supplement Division of the People’s Daily by Yuan Ying is a memoir of time working for the People’s Daily.
• Era of History edited by Kuang Chen is a historic series on major events from the 1950s to the 1980s.
• This is How it Goes@sars.com by Hu Fayun tells the story of a woman who fell in love with the internet at the cost of her relationship with a vice-mayor during the Sars outbreak.
• The Press by Zhu Huaxiang uses fictional characters to tell of the intrigues and behind-the-news stories of China’s media industry.

Trackback this Post | Feed on comments to this Post