Printing licenses for foreign newspapers
30 November 2004
Foreign newspapers will be allowed to print on the Chinese mainland, a leading government official has said. Giving few further details, state media quoted Liu Binjie, deputy director of the State Administration of Press and Publications, as saying newspapers would have to follow "certain procedures" in order to qualify for a license. No timescale was given for the issuing of licenses. China normally keeps a tight guard on access to non-state media and blocks access to several news websites. To date, foreign newspapers available in China have been printed in Hong Kong or overseas and distributed only in a few selected outlets.