Chinese Students Assail News Coverage, Burn Copies of Paper

A group of more than 400 Chinese students burned copies of Peking’s main local Communist Party newspaper Monday to display their unhappiness with the press coverage given to their recent demonstrations for democracy.

In a midday protest on the campus of Peking University, students put the torch to scores of copies of the Peking Daily, which is put out by the municipal party committee.

It was the most dramatic in a series of recent public complaints by students about the lack of a free press in China.

As ashes from the burning newspapers rose toward the leafless trees and blue sky, a young language student looked upward and muttered, “Peking Daily, ‘Gone With the Wind,’ ” laughing with pride at his ability to joke in English, invoking the name of an American movie.

‘Students Won’t Change’

Asked if he thought Monday’s demonstration would succeed in changing the newspaper’s coverage, another student replied, “No, but we students won’t change, either.”

The authorities made no serious effort to stop the students. Uniformed police stayed away from the demonstration, which was held just in front of the spot on campus where students have been putting up illegal posters.

In directing their fire at the Peking Daily, the students were displaying their political sophistication. China has many different Communist Party newspapers, but they differ subtly from one another, both in coverage and in the ideological line they reflect. Over the last week, the Peking Daily has generally taken the leading role in advocating a tough stance toward the students.

One student demonstrating Monday said he thought the Peking Daily was reflecting the views of conservatives within the Communist Party.

Bitter Complaints

Students complained bitterly about the negative coverage the newspaper gave to their New Year’s Day demonstration at Tian An Men Square in the center of Peking, the largest such demonstration in more than eight years. They also expressed dislike for stories in which workers were quoted as saying they disagreed with the students.

“We strongly oppose the purpose of some of the people to set us against the workers,” said one of the posters put up Monday at Peking University.

On Monday morning, the Peking Daily revived the argument that the students demonstrating for democracy represent “class enemies.” That line, which could be used to justify a crackdown or purge, was first made last Wednesday but had dropped out of the official press.

In a front-page commentary, the Peking Daily said the demonstrating students want to “use illusory capitalist democracy to go out and wreak anarchism.” However, it went on, “the people’s dictatorship prevents a handful of enemies from being dictators.”

Commentary on TV

This tough language did not appear in the People’s Daily, China’s nationwide Communist Party newspaper. But the Peking Daily commentary was read aloud, in its entirety, on China’s national television news program Monday night.

One of the students participating in Monday’s newspaper-burning said the authorities are trying to identify leaders or organizers of the pro-democracy demonstrations. He insisted that there are no leaders as such, but he acknowledged that there are regular discussions among students in the dormitories at night.

Asked if he thought the authorities might round up or retaliate against some organizers, the student replied, “Not for a while, but there is an old Chinese saying: ‘Count up after the harvest is over.’ ”

This student, like many others among the pro-democracy demonstrators, was a science major.

Another, a physics major, said, “Maybe the students who study natural sciences are not so afraid of being threatened, while students in the social sciences have been punished so much for so long.”

Society’s Privileged

This youth, who like other demonstrators declined to be quoted by name, acknowledged that the pro-democracy students are among the most privileged members of Chinese society.

“In our opinion,” he said, “we should not withhold from criticizing the authorities for that reason.”

A poster put up Sunday night at Peking University called on Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping to give his views on the student protests within 10 days.

So far, although a group of leading party conservatives have denounced the students, Deng and his top reform-minded aides, Premier Zhao Ziyang and party General Secretary Hu Yaobang, have remained silent.

On Monday, however, Bao Tong, Zhao’s senior assistant, denounced the demonstrators in a commentary in the People’s Daily.

“Creating movements does nothing to help the construction of a democratic government,” Bao said. “Hasn’t China eaten the bitter fruit of enough movements?”