Media harmony

There's a euphemism here for the Chinese government censoring media: harmonizing. I'd never heard that term before, but I kind of like it. Your newspapaer has been harmonized with big black rectangles. Your internet has been harmonized by the Great Firewall of China. Your television has been harmonized by a magical editing elves.

While we watched a television news report at lunch yesterday (I still don't get it, and yesterday they removed a place setting from the table so the television could be viewed properly.), an image of Tiananmen Square flashed across the screen before cutting to an older Chinese gentleman who seemed to be talking about movies. Everyone around the table exclaimed, "Cut! Cut!" and I inquired what set off their alarms.

Apparently, the news (imported from Hong Kong) was about to run a piece regarding the Chinese government, so it quickly was edited to something a little less ... newsworthy. It was a subtle reminder that I wasn't in the land of free press!