''Neican'' (, abbreviated from ''nèibù cānkǎo zīliào'' (内部参考资料),Carol Lee Hamrin, Suisheng Zhao, ''Decision-making in Deng's China: perspectives from insiders'', M.E. Sharpe, 1995,
Google Print, p.114
/ref> lit. "internal reference reports" or "internal reference materials") are internal

report A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...

s of limited circulation prepared for the high-ranking

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

(CCP) officials.
Chinese whispers: China's secret media
', The Economist, Jun 17th 2010Mark Magnier
Rosy Reports From Underlings Leave Chinese Leaders in the Dark
Los Angeles Times, February 16, 2004Cho Li-Fung,
The Emergence, Influence and Limitations of Watchdog. Journalism in Post-1992 China: A Case Study of Southern Weekend
', doctoral thesis, The University of Hong Kong, April 2007 According to censorship rules in China, any matter that media outlets believe would harm the image of the CCP or

Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...

, threaten social stability and unity, or other matters not suitable for open publication, such as corruption,

social unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...

, and large-scale business swindles, should be reported internally rather than publicly. The ''neican'' also serve to keep CCP leaders informed about the issues that are seen as too sensitive be reported and discussed in the mainstream media. Thus they are supposed to offer more realistic and less

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

version of events. They are often similar in form to

investigative reporting Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...

, and are prepared by the journalists working for the official CCP organs such as Xinhua News Service or

People’s Daily The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language e ...

. As such, much of the information collected by the Chinese mainstream media is published in ''neican'', not in the public outlets. The popularity of ''neican'' has been on the rise in recent years, with some estimates suggesting a several-fold increase in the last decade from 2000. Some lower-level ''neican'' have become profit centers for their publishers (such as ministries), which try to increase their subscription base. Sometimes, the term ''neican'' is used to refer to restricted literature (books available only to individuals with certain clearances).Paul Theroux, ''Riding the iron rooster: by train through China'', Random House, Inc., 1989,
Google Print, p.74
/ref>

Criticism

''Neican'' have been criticized for being slow and inefficient. Often, they focus on information already available in the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

, but not in the Chinese traditional printed mainstream media, which is both censored by the government, and in which self-censorship of sensitive items is heavily encouraged. They are also seen as biased (produced by CCP members for other party members), often saying what the writers expect the superiors want to hear, and downplaying or omitting unpleasant news. As

Hu Xingdou Hu Xingdou(胡星斗) (born 1962) is a Chinese economist. He is a professor of economics at Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing Institute of Technology (abbreviated BIT; Simplified Chinese characters, Simplified Chinese: 北京理工大学 ...

, a professor of social science at the

Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing Institute of Technology (abbreviated BIT; Simplified Chinese characters, Simplified Chinese: 北京理工大学; Traditional Chinese characters, Traditional Chinese: 北京理工大學; pinyin: Běijīng Lǐgōng Dàxué), is a National u ...

, notes: " ..there are some issues that even neican won't touch", for example, military affairs and high-level corruption.

References

{{reflist Mass media in China Government of China

Criticism

See also

References