Hanoi tussles over TV censorship
Complete blackout or partial censorship? That question is up in the air
in
Vietnam, as the government moves to restrict the access of ordinary
citizens
to international satellite TV programming. Everyone can still watch
science
and sports programmes. But only top Communist Party officials,
high-ranking
government leaders and foreigners are allowed under a new directive to
watch
other programmes, including news and feature films.
However, the new
rules
may prove more flexible. Disagreement appears to be brewing between the
state-owned Vietnam Television, popularly known as VTV, which has been
providing cable services to ordinary Vietnamese, and the Ministry of
Culture
and Information, which proposed the new government order. In recent
years
VTV has reaped profits by marketing to Vietnamese families cable
packages
that include CNN, MTV and Star Movies--basically flouting a government
ban
imposed in 1996. Referring to a potential blackout, one VTV staffer told
the
REVIEW that "our customers don't want to see it happen."
VTV employees
say
the station will continue offering CNN, for example, though they plan to
censor some broadcasts--either cutting into live programming or
pre-selecting CNN shows to be aired. So far, there's no explanation from
Hanoi on why it is necessary to crack down on overseas broadcasts at
this
time.
By Margot Cohen - The Far Eastern Economic Review - January 01, 2002.
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