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BEIJING, Nov 17, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- China has abandoned plans to allow foreign newspapers to print in the country because of the role of the press in revolutions in the former Soviet bloc.
Shi Zongyuan, head of the General Administration of Press and Publication, pointed to the toppling of governments in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.
"The 'colour revolutions' were a reminder not to let saboteurs into the house and that the door must be closed, so we have closed it temporarily," Shi told the Financial Times, one of the newspapers that would have been printing in China.
Foreign newspapers are now flown into China, in some cases from printing plants in Hong Kong. They can only be distributed to hotels and airports used heavily by foreigners and to approved subscribers.
The plan to allow printing in China would have kept the restrictions on distribution. But publishers saw it as a wedge for greater circulation in what is a huge potential market.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2005 by United Press International
