Honeymoon between Chinese Government and Media is Over.

The New York Times of the US reported yesterday that the relationship between Chinese media and the Chinese government has rapidly frozen as Chinese media, which were regarded as puppets of the Chinese government and the Communist Party, have strongly criticized them.

Recently, corruption scandals involving government agencies or political wheeler-dealers have dominated headlines. But this phenomenon was not imaginable not long ago.

The Times cited as a glaring example a Chinese economic magazine, which disclose corruption of state-owned banks and corruption involving relatives of Deng Xiaoping, and another economic daily, which argued that the number of the killed in a bridge-collapsing accident was manipulated by the government.

According to the Times, these changes in Chinese media began to occur as the government subsidy for media have been dramatically reduced for the past 10 years and the media, in turn, have scrambled to develop and report catchy articles.

Journalists` perception about their job has also changed. A reporter said under the condition of anonymity that young reporters brought up amid the wave of openness are not fettered by ideas and guidelines of the Communist Party. The most important thing for them is what readers want to read."

The Chinese government is in agony trying to find ways to control the media. In particular, the government is considering blocking the access of independent coverage of the media on the power transfer in the run up to the nation-wide party convention in November.

But the Times reported that the Chinese government is having difficulties in controlling media companies that have exponentially sprung up in recent years and in blocking the distribution of information through the Internet.

Jung-Ahn Kim credo@donga.com