Neican

Internal Reference (内部参考), abbreviated as neican (内参), is a series of internal reports with limited circulation prepared for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and government officials in the People's Republic of China.[1][2][3]

In the internal reference system of Xinhua News Agency, the internal reference reports are divided into four levels. The highest level is the Domestic Dynamics Proof Attachment (《国内动态清样附页》), which is specifically provided for members of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and relevant officials, usually reflecting highly significant and urgent situations. The second level includes the Domestic Dynamics Proof (《国内动态清样》) and the international-news Reference Proof (《参考清样》), which are provided to provincial- and ministerial-level leaders and their deputies, mainly covering important developments, sensitive issues, and key recommendations. Additionally, the third-level Internal Reference (《内部参考》) is directed at prefectural and departmental levels, with a lower sensitivity level than the Domestic Dynamics Proof. The fourth level (lowest tier) is the Internal Reference Selection (《内参选编》), which compiles less sensitive content from the Internal Reference and the Domestic Dynamics Proof; issued weekly, it is distributed to county- and regiment-level grassroots cadres for internal reading and discussion, although it still allows more leeway than publicly available materials.[4][5]

In addition to Xinhua News Agency, other state-run media outlets also publish internal publications in various formats. These include the Compilation of Public Letters (《群众来信摘编》), the Situation Compilation (《情况汇编》), and the Special Issue of the Situation Compilation (《情况汇编特刊》) by the People's Daily; the Situation Report (《情况反映》) by the Guangming Daily; the Compilation of Youth Letters (《青年来信摘编》) by the China Youth Daily; and the Situation Briefing (《情况简报》) by the Shanghai Jiefang Daily, among others.[6]

According to the media regulation in China, certain matters that media outlets believe would harm the image of the Chinese government, threaten social stability and unity, or other matters not suitable for open publication, such as certain events of corruption, social unrest, and large-scale business swindles, should be reported internally rather than publicly. The neican serves to keep CCP leaders informed about the issues that are seen as too sensitive be reported and discussed in the public publications.[3] Thus, the internal reference is supposed to offer more realistic and less censored version of events.[2] They are often similar in form to investigative reporting, and are prepared by the journalists working for the official media such as Xinhua News Agency and the People’s Daily.[3] As such, certain information collected by the Chinese media is published in the internal reference, not in the public publications.[7] Some government think tanks also produce neican.[8]

The popularity of neican has been on the rise in recent years, with some estimates suggesting a several-fold increase in the last decade from 2000.[1]

Since CCP general secretary Xi Jinping has consolidated power, neican have been subject to censorship previously applied only to media for the general public.[9][8]

  1. ^ a b "Chinese whispers". The Economist. June 17, 2010. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  2. ^ a b Magnier, Mark (2004-02-16). "Rosy Reports From Underlings Leave Chinese Leaders in the Dark". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  3. ^ a b c Cho, Li-fung (2007). The emergence, influence, and limitations of watchdog journalism in Post-1992 China : a case study of Southern Weekend (Doctor of Philosophy thesis). Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR: The University of Hong Kong. doi:10.5353/th_b4020385 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  4. ^ ""内参治国"成中国特色". 共识网. Archived from the original on 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  5. ^ "直通中南海的内参，如何影响中国？". 凤凰网. Archived from the original on 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  6. ^ "直达中南海的内参，怎样影响中国". 《 人民周刊 》（2016年第9期）. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  7. ^ Ning, Lou (1993-01-01). Chinese Democracy and the Crisis of 1989: Chinese and American Reflections. SUNY Press. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-7914-1269-5.
  8. ^ a b "The Chinese authorities are concealing the state of the economy". The Economist. September 5, 2024. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2024-09-05. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  9. ^ Kang, Dake (31 October 2022). "In Xi's China, even internal reports fall prey to censorship". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 30 August 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2022.