Leaders fear reports about rising unemployment

The paper quoted an unnamed senior official of the Central Publicity Department as saying: "Leaders were alarmed about 'active thinking' among intellectuals recently and feared that critical essays, especially those calling for political reform at the 16th Party Plenum, would muddle the minds of cadres and the public."

According to a leaked party document - issued by the Central Publicity Department and the State Press and Publications Administration - publications reporting corruption scandals, crime, disasters and speculation over leadership changes will immediately and permanently be shut down, the paper said.

Marxist journalism

It also said President Jiang Zemin had ordered the 2,000-word document to be circulated to all publications alerting them that offenders would not be given a second chance.

From 1 July the party will launch a campaign to promote a "Marxist outlook on journalism," the Hong Kong Ming Pao newspaper said.

Leaders were alarmed about 'active thinking' among intellectuals recently and feared that critical essays would muddle the minds of cadres and the public

Senior Chinese official

The campaign is reportedly aimed at "maintaining the correct opinion orientation and preventing the corrosive influence of a Western outlook on journalism".

China's reforms have led to a prolific growth in print and electronic media. 20 years ago there were only about 100 party-run newspapers. Now there are 2,200 newspapers.

The increased competition forces party-affiliated publications to deliver corruption scoops and celebrity gossip to readers bored with dry, didactic editorials and long speeches by leaders.

Closures

The Hong Kong Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said commercial newspapers in Guangxi and Sichuan provinces were shut down for refusing to follow party dictates.

Ming Pao reported in May the sacking of two editors of the Southern Weekend magazine. They had offended regional officials after in-depth coverage of crime and explosion stories.

Internet media are also subject to restrictions

The authorities also banned the Southern Metropolitan News - a popular tabloid and sister publication of the Southern Weekend magazine - for reporting on corruption, the Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po said.

A former Xinhua and Wen Wei Po journalist was reportedly arrested in December 2000. He exposed a series of major corruption cases in Liaoning Province in Hong Kong's Frontline magazine.

Media control

In an effort to reassert control over the media market, state-run broadcasters have in recent months been merged into powerful conglomerates.

But the party faces a tough challenge controlling an increasingly lively and outspoken media.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.