Wall Street Journal, 13 Feb 2013, Paul Mozur and Carlos Tejada: "Discontent has risen in recent months as Chinese authorities appear to have ratcheted up their censorship efforts amid a once-a-decade change of top government leaders. ... Stepped-up censorship efforts in recent months include a crackdown on so-called virtual private networks, or VPNs. While companies use commercial VPN services routinely for secure data, foreigners, China's elite and other tech-savvy users can use personal VPNs to leap the Great Firewall to use services like Facebook. But it is illegal for foreign companies to operate a VPN in China without a local partner, according to lawyers and state-run media, and several VPN services say their access has been blocked increasingly in recent months. In a departure from previous practices, the blockages have continued even after the recent transfer of power to a new generation of Chinese leaders. ... China's censor also have stepped up their scrutiny of foreign media websites following a series of articles last year on a scandal that led to the fall of former Communist Party star Bo Xilai and on ties between business and politics among China's top leaders. The Wall Street Journal's Chinese site has been blocked at times over the past year, while sites run by Bloomberg News and the New York Times remain blocked."

Radio Free Asia, 30 Jan 2013, Xin Lin/Luisetta Mudie: "China has one of the world's worst records on press freedom, with controls on state-run media and netizens showing no signs of abating, according to a new report Wednesday by Paris-based global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF)."

Reporters sans frontières, 5 Feb 2013: "Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns the Chinese government’s readiness to violate the confidentiality of sources, which has jeopardized the safety of New York Times journalists and their sources in China. The newspaper has been subjected to growing harassment in recent months. An article about outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao’s fortune was censored. The authorities refused to issue or renew visas and accreditation for its journalists. And now it turns out that it has been the target of cyber-attacks for months."

The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb 2013, Patrick Brzeski: "News that The New York Times and other major U.S. news organizations have been targeted by Chinese hackers suspected to be affiliated with the country's government has captivated U.S. media and foreign policy observers. But back in China, TV news audiences have been left in the dark. CNN International's coverage of the story was blacked out by Chinese censors when it aired [31 January] in China, a CNN spokeswoman said in confirming a report by the Huffington Post. 'Yes, our CNNI signal was blocked in China while we reported on the New York Times hacking story,' she said without commenting further."