Amid the towering skyscrapers and bustling streets of Shanghai’s Pudong financial district, a wave of legal changes is set to reshape how China handles disasters and the flow of information surrounding them.
Late Friday, Beijing announced significant revisions aimed at bolstering emergency prevention and response capabilities. The new laws, effective November 1, impose harsher penalties on authorities for inadequate disaster response and tighten governmental control over media reporting.
As the frequency and severity of natural disasters like floods and earthquakes rise, China’s emergency response systems have been put to the test. The updated Emergency Response Law quintuples the maximum fine for poor disaster management to 1 million yuan ($140,000). It also calls for a stricter “news interviewing and reporting system,” although specifics remain vague.
These changes could further restrict media operations in a country where press freedom is already tightly controlled. Government departments are mandated to “guide” and “support” media during emergencies, ensuring news is “timely, accurate, objective, and fair.” The law bars any deliberate delay, false reporting, or concealment of information.
Katja Drinhausen of the Mercator Institute for China Studies views these revisions as a move to enhance state control over information flows. Similarly, Jemimah Steinfeld of Index on Censorship notes the increasingly prescriptive terms for journalists covering emergencies.
The law’s amendments, adding over 30 provisions to its 2007 predecessor, reflect a response to public outcry over past governmental failures. Incidents like the hospital fire in Beijing, which killed 29 people but wasn’t reported for eight hours, and the unannounced floods in Zhuozhou, have sparked significant backlash.
Foreigners in China, including journalists and international businesses, are now required to adhere to these laws and local government directives. This regulatory shift calls for heightened awareness and compliance with China’s evolving crisis management framework.
Past incidents show the risks for both domestic and foreign journalists. In 2021, a German reporter faced hostility while covering floods in Zhengzhou, and earlier this year, Chinese state media journalists were obstructed while reporting on an explosion in Sanhe.
These legal changes underscore China’s intent to tighten its grip on how emergencies are managed and reported, reinforcing the need for vigilance and compliance in navigating the new regulatory landscape.
