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China Keeps Lid on Information, as Hopes Dim in Yangtze Ship Disaster China Keeps Lid on Information, as Hopes Dim in Yangtze Ship Disaster
(about 1 hour later)
JIANLI, China — China sought to maintain a tight grip on information about a capsized cruise ship on Wednesday, even as hopes dimmed for the hundreds of people aboard who remained missing and questions emerged about the vessel and the captain’s decision to sail into a storm.JIANLI, China — China sought to maintain a tight grip on information about a capsized cruise ship on Wednesday, even as hopes dimmed for the hundreds of people aboard who remained missing and questions emerged about the vessel and the captain’s decision to sail into a storm.
In a show of openness, the Chinese government allowed a handful of reporters to visit the scene of rescue efforts Wednesday on the Yangtze River, where the ship with 456 passengers and crew overturned during a violent storm on Monday night.In a show of openness, the Chinese government allowed a handful of reporters to visit the scene of rescue efforts Wednesday on the Yangtze River, where the ship with 456 passengers and crew overturned during a violent storm on Monday night.
But the time of transparency was brief. Police checkpoints prevented access to the river and movement through parts of the nearby town of Jianli. Hotels were told not to accept journalists unless they had registered at a media center run by local propaganda officials. Likewise, the police blocked journalists’ access to local hospitals.But the time of transparency was brief. Police checkpoints prevented access to the river and movement through parts of the nearby town of Jianli. Hotels were told not to accept journalists unless they had registered at a media center run by local propaganda officials. Likewise, the police blocked journalists’ access to local hospitals.
He Jianzhong, vice minister of transportation, told reporters at the main rescue site that the operation might shift to lifting the ship out of the river but that the move would require five large cranes. One was already on site at midday Wednesday. Of the 456 people who were on the ship, the Oriental Star, 14 had been rescued and 26 deaths had been confirmed, China Central Television reported Wednesday evening. He Jianzhong, vice minister of transportation, told reporters at the main rescue site that the operation might shift to lifting the ship out of the river but that the move would require five large cranes. Of the 456 people on the ship, the Oriental Star, 14 had been rescued and 65 deaths had been confirmed, China Central Television reported Thursday.
“As long as there’s a ray of hope, we won’t give up searching,” a Ministry of Transportation spokesman, Xu Chengguang, said at a news conference. “We will use all means available and utmost efforts to complete the search and rescue work.”“As long as there’s a ray of hope, we won’t give up searching,” a Ministry of Transportation spokesman, Xu Chengguang, said at a news conference. “We will use all means available and utmost efforts to complete the search and rescue work.”
The search area has expanded to more than 130 miles downstream from the scene of the disaster, officials said on Wednesday. More than 130 boats have been deployed, and an additional 180 divers joined the search on Wednesday. The search area has expanded to more than 130 miles downstream from the scene of the disaster, officials said Wednesday. More than 130 boats have been deployed, and an additional 180 divers joined the search on Wednesday.
Wu Cuihong, a local meteorological official, confirmed that a tornado lasting 15 to 20 minutes had occurred at the accident site Monday evening.
Zhong Shoudao, the president of the Chongqing Boat Design Institute, said at the news conference that the Oriental Star, as a riverboat, had less wind and wave resistance than an oceangoing vessel. “In a special situation like a tornado, with great pressure on one side of a boat that exceeds the standard that the boat was built to, it will capsize,” he said.
The Chinese news media operate under strict controls, though disasters can offer a window of freer reporting — sometimes just a day or two — before the censors decide where to draw the line. But after the Oriental Star capsized, the news media controls fell swiftly into place.The Chinese news media operate under strict controls, though disasters can offer a window of freer reporting — sometimes just a day or two — before the censors decide where to draw the line. But after the Oriental Star capsized, the news media controls fell swiftly into place.
Images and reporting from the site of the overturned ship were largely limited to state media outlets for the first 24 hours. A propaganda directive ordered domestic news media not to send reporters to the scene and to rely on accounts from “authoritative media,” namely the state-run Xinhua news agency and China Central Television, according to China Digital Times, a website based in Berkeley, Calif., that monitors Chinese news media and online discussion.Images and reporting from the site of the overturned ship were largely limited to state media outlets for the first 24 hours. A propaganda directive ordered domestic news media not to send reporters to the scene and to rely on accounts from “authoritative media,” namely the state-run Xinhua news agency and China Central Television, according to China Digital Times, a website based in Berkeley, Calif., that monitors Chinese news media and online discussion.
In the current climate of tight news media restrictions pushed by President Xi Jinping, even traditionally aggressive outlets have been reined in, said Xiao Qiang, China Digital Times’s editor in chief and an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “Now it’s much, much more restricted,” he said.In the current climate of tight news media restrictions pushed by President Xi Jinping, even traditionally aggressive outlets have been reined in, said Xiao Qiang, China Digital Times’s editor in chief and an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “Now it’s much, much more restricted,” he said.
While the ship’s captain and chief engineer have been detained, the authorities have said nothing about whether they were warned of weather conditions, how they escaped the ship and whether they radioed for help or ordered passengers to evacuate.While the ship’s captain and chief engineer have been detained, the authorities have said nothing about whether they were warned of weather conditions, how they escaped the ship and whether they radioed for help or ordered passengers to evacuate.
Whereas rescue efforts after the TransAsia Airways crash in Taiwan in February or the sinking of the Sewol ferry in South Korea last year were broadcast on live streaming video, video of the Oriental Star response has come almost exclusively from edited China Central Television footage. The front pages of many Chinese newspapers and foreign newspapers, including The New York Times, carried the same Xinhua photograph of a 65-year-old woman being rescued.Whereas rescue efforts after the TransAsia Airways crash in Taiwan in February or the sinking of the Sewol ferry in South Korea last year were broadcast on live streaming video, video of the Oriental Star response has come almost exclusively from edited China Central Television footage. The front pages of many Chinese newspapers and foreign newspapers, including The New York Times, carried the same Xinhua photograph of a 65-year-old woman being rescued.
Recent disasters in China have set off public criticism of the government and demands that officials take responsibility for shortcomings, such as poorly built schools that collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the rapid expansion of high-speed rail, which some saw as contributing to a deadly train crash in the eastern city of Wenzhou in 2011. Recent disasters in China have set off public criticism of the government and demands that officials take responsibility for shortcomings, such as poorly built schools that collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the rapid expansion of high-speed rail, which some saw as contributing to a deadly train crash in the city of Wenzhou in 2011.
Li Datong, a former newspaper editor in Beijing, said that coverage was being strictly controlled even though the political implications of this accident seemed much more limited. “This isn’t especially sensitive,” he said. “It’s a disaster, and there’s nothing people can do. In a few minutes, the ship turns over.”Li Datong, a former newspaper editor in Beijing, said that coverage was being strictly controlled even though the political implications of this accident seemed much more limited. “This isn’t especially sensitive,” he said. “It’s a disaster, and there’s nothing people can do. In a few minutes, the ship turns over.”
Chinese news media reports have focused on the ship and the decisions of the captain. Chinese news media reports have focused on the ship and the decisions of the captain. The Beijing News, a relatively liberal daily, questioned in its Wednesday issue whether there should have been more notice of the storm, whether the ship was too old or overloaded, why it took more than an hour to alert the authorities after it sank, and how the captain managed to survive when so many others did not.
The Beijing News, a relatively liberal daily, raised questions in its Wednesday issue, including whether there should have been more advance notice of the storm, whether the ship was too old or overloaded, why it took more than an hour to alert the authorities after it sank, and how the captain managed to survive when so many others did not. Alternative sources of information and discussion on Chinese social media have been extremely limited, in part because of clampdowns on discussions online, Mr. Xiao said. The phrases “Oriental Star” and “shipwreck” were the most censored search terms on the Sina Weibo microblog platform, according to the monitoring site freeweibo.com.
Alternative sources of information and discussion on Chinese social media have been extremely limited, in part because of continuing clampdowns on freewheeling discussions online, Mr. Xiao said. The phrases “Oriental Star” and “shipwreck” were the most censored search terms on the Sina Weibo microblog platform, according to the monitoring site freeweibo.com.
“It’s amazing not only how little information there is but how little discussion there is, other than general expressions of anxiety,” Mr. Xiao said. “There’s nothing people can do. There’s no independent information to see what’s going on.”“It’s amazing not only how little information there is but how little discussion there is, other than general expressions of anxiety,” Mr. Xiao said. “There’s nothing people can do. There’s no independent information to see what’s going on.”
Premier Li Keqiang, who flew to the disaster scene on Tuesday, ordered the thousands of rescuers to focus on saving lives. But with so few rescues to report on, Mr. Li’s activities received even more detailed coverage than normal. Xinhua photographs showed him surveying the river with binoculars, bowing in the rain before recovered bodies, holding planning meetings and eating lunch from a box. Family members of the missing complained they had had a hard time getting accurate information from officials.
One woman in her 20s who said her surname was Zhao stood on the riverbank by the rescue area on Wednesday, crying and staring at the murky waters. She said both her parents had been on the ship, and she and some relatives of other passengers had been brought to Jianli from eastern Jiangsu Province by the Ping An Insurance Company and then left to fend on their own. The group had taken a taxi and then hitchhiked past checkpoints.
“The insurance company employee put us in the hotel and left,” Ms. Zhao said between sobs. “The hotel was awful. No one in the government came to help us, and we don’t know with whom we should speak.”
Premier Li Keqiang, who flew to the scene on Tuesday, ordered the thousands of rescuers to focus on saving lives. But with so few rescues to report on, Mr. Li’s activities received even more detailed coverage than normal. Xinhua photographs showed him surveying the river with binoculars, bowing in the rain before recovered bodies and eating lunch from a box.
Guan Dong, a navy diver who rescued a 21-year-old crew member, was also covered extensively. He said he was following orders to prioritize human life when he offered his diving mask and breathing apparatus to help the young man escape an air pocket in the upturned ship.Guan Dong, a navy diver who rescued a 21-year-old crew member, was also covered extensively. He said he was following orders to prioritize human life when he offered his diving mask and breathing apparatus to help the young man escape an air pocket in the upturned ship.
“There are always reports on heroes,” Mr. Li, the former newspaper editor, said. “That’s the propaganda model.”“There are always reports on heroes,” Mr. Li, the former newspaper editor, said. “That’s the propaganda model.”