Study During The Nanjing National Government Press And Publication And Regulations

In 1927, Kuomintang( KMT) , headed by Chiang Kai-shek, founded the Nationalist Government in Nanking and thereby started its 22-year-long ruling on China's mainland. Politically, KMT implemented the guidelines of " ruling the country by the party", in accordance with which strict control measures, particularly monopolized manipulation by KMT, were imposed on the press and publishing. A succession of laws and rugulations ,like Publishing Law ,were issued to enhance KMT's registration and censorship institution and gradually establish a control system based on "ruling the country" and " partisanship press". The system can be manifested by the statutes and the administration of press and publishing in different phases of the Nationalist Government.The author specifies the implementation of the policy by dividing it into 5 phases in view of the strictness of the control:Phase I. (1927-1932) The legislative system for press and publishing statutes came to its shape. The issue of Publishing Law and other fundamental laws and regulations ,which were intended to strictly limit the CPC's press and publishing cause, virtually tolerated the development of civic press and publishing industry to win over the public, meanwhile to establish KMT's own propaganda machine.Phase II (1932-1935) The control institution was eventually set up. The KMT regime had just stabilized and the press policy soon became tightened. Prior censorship was put into practice and control was extended from over the CPC's press and publishing to over the whole civic P & P sector. A great many more statutes were issued and became harsh.Phase III ( 1935-1939) The control over P & P became somehow loose. The KMT and CPC united their efforts in the anti-Japanese War and part of CPC's publications could be issued publicly in the Nationalist-held areas.Phase IV ( 1939-1944) Inspection and control over P & P became ever more strict. The anti-Japanese War saw its stalemate stage and KMT initiated waves of anti-Communist onslaught. The highlights include the publication of "National Spirit Inspiration Policy and Implementation" and " War-time Censorship of the Press" .Phase V (1944-1949) The control over P & P was less tight for a while after the victory of the anti-Japanese War but became harsh again upon the breakout of the Civil War. Despite the obolition of press censorship, the control over P & P in the reoccupied area never ended. However, whth the collapse of the KMT regime, the control over P & P ultimately fell apart. The press and publishing policy implemented by KMT during its ruling on China's mainland was frequently noted as control ideology as well as censorship. To execute the principle, KMT and the Nationalist Government kept issuing statutes as the legislative basis fot its press control. Consequently, the press and publishing sector was severely damaged due to the enforcement of the measures. Nevertheless, faced with such harsh conditions, China's modern press and publishing did not abandon its belief and pursuit of democracy and freedom and kept struggling by all means against KMT's press control. That explains the co-existence of exorbitant P & P statutes and a booming industry, which can be attributed to the contradictions of freedom and dictatorship, partisanship struggle and "rule of man", whereby the control over P & P did not live up to expectations and even exercised adverse effects, which led to its complete failure. After the KMT regime retreated to Taiwan, it carried out restriction on newspaper licensing, which can be seen as the extension of the policy in Nanking regime times.