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Alpha Stage
Hush Money in China
January 25, 2007
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The Washington Post is running an article entitled, "Blackmailing by
Journalists in China Seen as Frequent."

The article explains, "In many ways, blackmail journalism grew
naturally out of a system in which Communist Party censors control
the news rigorously, barring reports that could be seen as unfavorable
to the party or contrary to the government's political goals. If the
ruling party distorts the news for political reasons, blackmailing
reporters have concluded, why wouldn't they do it themselves for
financial reasons?"

The article tells the story of one particular blackmailing incident.
Read the Story!!


Discussion-Starters for Younger Children

  • Ask your students if they think it's important to tell the truth?
    Encourage them to explain their thoughts.
  • Ask your students to imagine a world in which truth
    was not important. What would it be like to live in such
    a world?

  • Can your students think of anything that they don't want people
    to know?
  • Consider making a list on the board of things that people
    might not want others to know. Obviously, don't
    personalize this. Some examples might include being
    afraid of heights, being scared of dogs, and not liking
    somebody.

  • Is somebody lying if they do something wrong and they don't
    tell anybody about it? Why/why not?
  • Should the person who does something wrong tell other
    people about it, however? Why/why not? It's important
    for students to realize that if they've done something
    wrong it's ok to admit what they did and try to fix the
    situation. NOBODY'S PERFECT!!

  • Can you think of any examples in your class in which
    somebody did something wrong and then admitted it so that the
    situation could be rectified?

  • Inform your students that there are people in this world who
    would pay others not to say things that they don't want said?
    Why would somebody pay somebody else to be quiet? Just
    because somebody is paid to be quiet, does it mean that he/she
    will remain quiet? Why/why not?
  • What do your students think about somebody who
    makes somebody else pay them in order for them not to
    say something? Why do they think this way?
  • You might consider writing a list of adjectives to
    describe such a person, on the board.


Discussion-Starters for Older Students

  • Vocabulary Terms to Discuss: Blackmail; Yuan; Consternation;
    and, Metastasizing.

  • Does it really matter if newspapers print untrue news stories?
    What might be the consequences of printing such stories?
    Would it be acceptable for sports journalists to make up their
    stories? Why/why not? Why is truth important?
  • In your classroom, consider putting "Truth" on trial. Is
    it everything that it's talked up to be? What are some
    positive consequences of truth? What are some negative
    consequences of truth?

  • Pose: The head of the Free Press News Association in China
    approaches you and asks: What could a nation do to minimize
    the effect of bribery when bribes significantly influence the
    type of news that is reported?
  • In groups of two or three, ask students to develop
    suggestions to eliminate bribery. Discuss these
    suggestions as a class.

  • The newspaper article articulates a connection between a
    communist system that significantly limits freedom of the press
    and a "capitalist" system that uses bribery to limit press. Ask
    your students if they think that this connection makes sense.
    Why/why not?
  • Consider asking your students to write argumentative
    essays in response to this question.
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