China Adamant That Publications Must Be “Legal”

China Economic Review report.. “Chinese importers of foreign publications must verify the products are legal, China said on Friday, weeks after a British academic publisher which blocked access to hundreds of scholarly articles in the country reposted the material.”

China says imported publications must be legal

Chinese importers of foreign publications must verify the products are legal, China said on Friday, weeks after a British academic publisher which blocked access to hundreds of scholarly articles in the country reposted the material. Cambridge University Press (CUP) said in August that it had removed some 300 papers and book reviews published in the China Quarterly journal from its website in China following a request from the Chinese government. The move sparked an outcry from academics, who attacked the decision as an affront to academic freedom. CUP, the publishing arm of Britain’s elite Cambridge University, later reversed its decision and reposted the articles. China’s State Council Information Office, responding by fax two weeks after a Reuters request for comment, said that: “All publications imported into China’s market must adhere to Chinese laws and regulations. Publication importers are responsible for checking the content of their imported publications.” It did not mention CUP.