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	China''s anti-graft drive is making state media bolder by Megha Rajagopalan, Samuel Shen, Brenda Goh Reuters   China''s campaign to stamp out corruption has emboldened the country''s normally docile state media to push the barriers in exposing corporate wrongdoing.   While it''s still off-limits to delve too deeply into what government leaders and powerful institutions may be up to, recent ''undercover'' state TV reports accusing state-owned Bank of China of aiding money laundering and a U.S.-owned food supplier of safety violations suggest the media are more ready to run critical reports.   China''s central bank said earlier this month it was investigating allegations by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) that Bank of China offers a service to help Chinese move more of their cash offshore than is allowed. Bank of China, the country''s fourth largest lender, has denied the allegations.   "Part of the reason the report went forward was because of the anti-corruption campaign," said a CCTV network employee. "It isn''t like corruption never existed before, but now there''s a bit more room to report on it."   Five current and former CCTV employees told Reuters that while the network had run critical reports on state-owned enterprises before, it was unusual to target a major entity such as Bank of China. All asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. CCTV could not be reached for comment.   "The Bank of China investigative reporting by CCTV is definitely part of the government-wide push to clamp down on corruption and related activities," another CCTV insider said, adding that Chinese-language TV channels were putting more resources into chasing investigative stories.   Foreign companies operating in China, and their local suppliers, are also in state-media''s crosshairs.   A documentary last week by Shanghai government-owned Dragon TV accused food supplier Shanghai Husi Food, owned by Illinois-based OSI Group, of mixing expired meat with fresh produce, triggering a food safety scandal that has since spread to Hong Kong and Japan.   Several foreign fast-food brands, including McDonald''s Corp , pulled the company''s products from their outlets and switched suppliers. Regulators in Shanghai said Husi forged production dates on smoked beef patties and sold them after they had expired.   OSI said on its website it was withdrawing all products made by its Shanghai Husi business, and was carrying out an internal investigation into senior management that could end in legal action against those responsible.   "Reports on food safety have a broad impact and the (Dragon TV) investigative report was totally on the mark," said Zhang Zhi''an, a journalism professor at Sun Yat Sen University in Guangzhou. "There have been more and more reports on food safety."   A worker at an employment agency near the Shanghai Husi factory said an undercover TV reporter had come in seeking a job at the plant. "The reporter said he was from Sichuan (province), and wanted to enter the factory," the worker said. "He looked honest to me."   The reporter could not be reached for comment, and Dragon TV has declined to comment on the making of the programme.   State media sources interviewed by Reuters said they knew of no explicit edict from Beijing to report on corporate wrongdoing - but that such investigative stories fit with the anti-corruption drive and generated strong viewing numbers.   "The Bank of China story could be done in part because of the wider political environment," the first CCTV source said.   State media often avoid reporting on powerful state-owned companies because of their political ties, media insiders said. It would have been easy for Bank of China to pressure CCTV to kill the story if it knew beforehand that it was to be aired, said a person with direct knowledge of CCTV''s editorial processes.   "In China, if you contact the subject of your report before publishing, they will almost certainly use administrative means to suppress the report," the person said. "If it does come out, they can also use connections to get the report ''harmonised''," he added, using a colloquialism for online censorship.   But China''s state media is far from being independent or filling a genuine watchdog role, media experts said. By and large, it only reports on important corruption cases to the extent that the government itself allows them to become public.   "Reporting on local and foreign companies is all well and good - as long as it doesn''t disturb those in the government with money and power," said Zhan Jiang, a journalism professor at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. http://www.trust.org/spotlight/Corruption-in-China Visit the related web page
	Canada Revenue Agency says ‘preventing poverty’ not allowed as goal for charity by The Canadian Press, agencies Canada   October 2014   800+ Scientists urge greater freedoms for Canadian Government Experts, writes Michael Halpern from the Union of Concerned Scientists.   New restrictions have made it difficult for scientists around the globe to collaborate with Canadian government scientists. In response, more than 800 scientists from 32 countries have signed a letter urging Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper to “remove excessive and burdensome restrictions and barriers to scientific communication and collaboration faced by Canadian government scientists.” The letter was published as an advertisement today in the Ottawa Citizen as part of the Government of Canada’s Science and Technology Week.   “Meeting today’s complex environmental and public health challenges requires the full participation of scientists around the globe,” wrote the scientists. “But recent reports highlight a rapid decline in freedoms and funding extended to Canadian government scientists, which make it more difficult for them to continue research, communicate scientific information and expertise, and collaborate internationally.”   In signing the letter, a number of scientists outlined specific problems they had collaborating with Canadian colleagues. “We have had difficulty in the past with [the Department of Fisheries and Oceans] trying to organize joint studies with their scientists as they did not have funds to carry out full scale collaborative studies,” wrote Ken Drinkwater, a senior scientist with Norway’s Institute of Marine Research.   “My colleagues have been severely limited in their ability to travel to meetings and conferences outside of Canada, which has limited communication on projects,” wrote Jennifer Sieracki, a graduate student at the University of Toledo.   The letter comes on the heels of an analysis by Simon Fraser University and Evidence for Democracy showing that many Canadian government media policies hinder “open and timely communication between scientists and reporters.   Further, 73% of government scientists who responded to a survey conducted by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) said that new government policies made it difficult to publish their research and collaborate with international colleagues and that new bureaucratic obstacles make it difficult for the scientists to attend important scientific meetings.   “Travel to conferences has been cut to the point where I don’t even bother applying,” said one scientist who responded to the PIPSC survey. “The approval process has become so bogged down with bureaucracy that almost every move has to be approved by the deputy minister…it has come to the point where co-workers often pay their own way to conferences in order to network with long-term colleagues, and maintain their professional level on an international scale.”   Last week, I spoke at the Canadian Science Policy Conference, outlining different steps the U.S. government has taken to improve its scientists’ ability to communicate and collaborate. Several agencies have improved the ability of their scientists to communicate and publish research through scientific integrity and other policies, and Congress has recognized the importance of scientists participating in professional society meetings.   Canadian government scientists have made many critical contributions to our understanding of environmental, security, and public health challenges. Canadian agencies should create conditions that foster and encourage collaboration with scientists around the world.   http://blog.ucsusa.org/800-scientists-urge-greater-freedoms-for-canadian-government-experts-693   * The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia"s national science agency is facing unprecedented cutbacks, with 1400 staff to be made redundant: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2014/s4148028.htm   July 2014   The Canada Revenue Agency has told a well-known charity that it can no longer try to prevent poverty around the world, it can only alleviate poverty – because preventing poverty might benefit people who are not already poor.   The bizarre bureaucratic brawl over a mission statement is yet more evidence of deteriorating relations between the Harper government and some parts of Canada’s charitable sector.   The lexical scuffle began when Oxfam Canada filed papers with Industry Canada to renew its non-profit status, as required by Oct. 17 this year under a law passed in 2011.   Ottawa-based Oxfam initially submitted wording that its purpose as a charity is “to prevent and relieve poverty, vulnerability and suffering by improving the conditions of individuals whose lives, livelihood, security or well-being are at risk.”   The international development group, founded in 1963, spends about $32 million each year on humanitarian relief and aid in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America, with a special emphasis on women’s rights.   But the submission to Industry Canada also needed the approval of the charities directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency, and that’s where the trouble began.   Agency officials informed Oxfam that “preventing poverty” was not an acceptable goal.   “Relieving poverty is charitable, but preventing it is not,” the group was warned. “Preventing poverty could mean providing for a class of beneficiaries that are not poor.”   Oxfam Canada’s executive director called the exchange an “absurd conversation.”   “Their interpretation was that preventing poverty may or may not involve poor people,” Robert Fox said in an interview with The Canadian Press.   “A group of millionaires could get together to prevent their poverty, and that would not be deemed a charitable purpose.”   The Canada Revenue Agency prevailed, and the official declaration to Industry Canada about the purposes of the non-profit corporation dropped any reference to preventing poverty.   “Our mission statement still indicates we’re committed to ending poverty, but our charitable (purposes) do not use the word ‘end’ or ‘prevent’ – they use the word "alleviate."   Philippe Brideau, spokesman for the Canada Revenue Agency, declined to provide information on the disagreement, saying “we do not comment on specific cases.”   Oxfam Canada was singled out for criticism earlier this year by Employment Minister Jason Kenney over the group’s opposition to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.   And in July last year, Oxfam Canada signed a joint letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, taking issue with reports that government officials had been asked to compile “friend and enemy stakeholder” lists to brief new ministers after the summer cabinet shuffle.   Fox said that despite the new “purpose” statement, the group’s programs and activities have not changed.   The contretemps is yet more evidence of frosty relations between the Harper government and some charities, several dozen of which have been targeted since 2012 for audits of their “political activities.”   The Canada Revenue Agency, armed with $13 million in special funding, is currently auditing some 52 groups, many of whom have criticized the Harper government’s programs and policies, especially on the environment.   The list includes Amnesty International Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, Canada Without Poverty, and the United Church of Canada’s Kairos charity.   Pen Canada, a Toronto charity that advocates for freedom of speech, joined the ranks of the audited just this week. The group has raised alarms about the government’s muzzling of scientists on the public payroll.   Charities have said the CRA campaign is draining them of cash and resources, creating a so-called “advocacy chill” as they self-censor to avoid aggravating auditors or attracting fresh audits. Auditors have the power to strip a charity of its registration, and therefore its ability to issue income-tax receipts, potentially drying up donations.   http://globalnews.ca/news/1472649/canada-revenue-agency-says-preventing-poverty-not-allowed-as-goal-for-charity/ http://www.oxfam.ca/news http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/the-leader-of-canadas-green-party-marching-for-climate-action-join-her-in-nyc   June 2014   Holding powerful interests to account is one of journalism"s most important missions. It"s critical to democracy and the preservation of human rights.   That"s why the University of Winnipeg and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation organized a conference to bring journalists, academics and the public together from around the world to debate some of the important issues that investigative journalism can help illuminate.   The conference blends seminars and speeches from working journalists with papers and research presentations from academics.   The conference will cover many themes, from the importance of investigative journalism in highlighting basic human rights, to investigating corruption globally, to an examination of criminal justice abuses like wrongful convictions, imprisonments and torture.   Audio recordings of most conference sessions are available on the schedule page. Videos of Carl Bernstein and Peter Mansbridge speeches are also available: http://winnipeg2014.com/
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