To the Editor:

I read the column about Web filtering in China, and I totally agree with Hao Wang’s opinion that people in China deserve uncensored, objective information (“Great Firewall of China violates rules of Web,” 2/8). Ironically, however, if the supporting material Wang relied on as “a good example” turns out to be from a source lacking validity and objectivity, the integrity of the article was undermined.

Based on my reading experiences, I believe this to be the case. The “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” and “Quit the CCP” are two of the many anti-China Communist Party propaganda documents initially introduced by the Epoch Times. The follow-up reports, such as one offering the number of people renouncing affiliation with the CCP, were arguably fabricated by the Epoch Times itself and were not validated by other sources. These reports have rarely drawn attention from the mainstream media.

The Epoch Times labels itself as “independent and objective,” but it has been disproportionately interested in the news that could be used to attack the CCP regime, sometimes even in an awkward way. The Epoch Times has ridiculously reported that natural disasters in China “forecast” the toppling of the CCP regime. I don’t think this is the proper attitude for an “objective” mass medium.

Li Zhang GRD ’09

Feb. 8, 2006