Chinese Media Censors Hu's Comments on Human Rights

Chinese media loudly heralded Hu Jintao's trip to the US—but it has hardly said a word about his recent comments on human rights, the Washington Post reports. Discussing the matter with President Obama at a joint news conference, President Hu said “a lot still needs to be done in China, in terms of human rights.” But China’s official news agency, Xinhua, didn’t mention the comment—or the human rights discussion itself; nor did state newspaper the People’s Daily.

The agency’s English-language website did mention human rights in its reporting, but it didn’t publish the quotation. The main Chinese TV station didn’t show the conference in question, nor did its website have video; a BBC clip aired in China cut off after "a lot still needs to be done." Some Chinese websites mentioned Hu’s statement, but largely didn’t allow reader comments, the Post notes.

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