Central Propaganda Department Launches New "Strike Hard" Campaign Against Media

The Propaganda Department of the Communist Party Central Committee recently convened a meeting to launch a new media crackdown. The meeting focused on the directive of the Politburo that 2009 will be a year of both economic and political difficulty. The Politburo cited intelligence from both the Ministry of State Security and the Peoples Liberation Army General Staff Headquarters that 2009 would witness a high tide of anti-China activity both domestically and internationally. The Chinese government faces a serious challenge and crisis, and all preparatory and defensive measures must be taken.

The Politburo meeting planned upcoming work, including special funds being disbursed to the Central Propaganda Department, Ministry of State Security, and Public Security Bureau's National Security Squad to prepare for the crisis. The Central Propaganda Department will take the lead in launching a new round of crackdowns on Mainland media. The reason for this advance action is that if they wait until incidents begin occurring in 2009 to start making threats and applying pressure, it could be too late.

http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/12/200812040011.shtml