An interesting article, by Finlo Rohrer for the BBC News Magazine, mentions HarperCollins' decision to omit any reference to the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square in an upcoming travel guide. "Travel Around China" is to be published in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In my opinion, the very least a guidebook should mention is that there could be penalties in store for locals if they openly discuss the topic, or any sensitive political subject. As a traveller, I'd certainly like to know this sort of detail otherwise how else am I to undertand the Chinese's reticence to answer my questions. The decision as to whether or not that travel guide chooses to go into historical detail should be a matter for editorial control.
Mind you, you do stand a chance of having your travel guide confiscated on entry to China if it doesn't happen to concur with what the government feel is acceptable content. Perhaps HarperCollins had considered the fallout from hoards of Olympic spectators having to bin their books, and decided to play ball.
Read the BBC News Magazine article here.
Have you written an article on the dos and don'ts when travelling to China?
(C) Calmer, 2007.
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