Media Work / Trends Bulletin / February 2007: Media censorship intensifies with continued crackdowns (Updated)

February 2007: Media censorship intensifies with continued crackdowns (Updated)

Note:

This Trends Bulletin is an updated version of the February 2006 bulletin "Media censorship intensifies with new round of crackdowns." It includes recent cases documenting renewed crackdowns on media, new regulatory measures reinforcing censorship, and an updated timeline of recent incidents.

***
At the beginning of 2007, news reports indicated that the government continues to maintain a high degree of censorship of all media outlets, in order to strengthen state control over public opinion by deterring independent reporting. The crackdown that intensified throughout 2006 continues even as the PRC government attempts to "repackage" China for the upcoming 2008 Olympics. This official repackaging requires maintaining a difficult balance between responding to international pressure for greater openness and loosening of restrictions (as evidenced by the new foreign media regulations), managing public relations for the Olympics, and the government's key goal of retaining Party control.

The crackdown is directed not only at journalists and Internet activists, but also at other outspoken civil society voices, in an effort to control dissent and prevent activists from exposing corruption and other social problems.


RENEWED CRACKDOWNS ON MEDIA
On August 31, 2006, Ching Cheong, the Singapore-based Straits Times journalist detained by China since April 2005, was sentenced to five years in prison after the Beijing No.2 Immediate People's court convicted him on charges of spying for Taiwan and fraud. Ching was accused of receiving "a large spying fee" for engaging in intelligence gathering activities in China for an intelligence agency in Taiwan. Ching denied the charge and his wife said that her husband had been entrapped as he tried to obtain recordings of secret interviews with China's former Communist Party chief, Zhao Ziyang. During detention, Ching was reportedly denied access to his lawyers. He was tried on August 15, after nearly 16 months in detention. The trial was held behind closed doors and only Ching's lawyer was allowed to attend. The family and the lawyer were only allowed to disclose the verdict, the charge and the sentence, but are forbidden from revealing details of the proceedings. On September 12, 2006, Ching filed an appeal. On November 24, the appeal was rejected and the original verdict was upheld. The court maintained that the five-year sentence was "accurate in application of the law and an appropriate punishment". Ching Cheong is now serving his sentence in Guangzhou.

On August 25, 2006, Zhao Yan, a Chinese journalist, was sentenced to three years in prison. He had been kept in custody since 2004 on state secrets and fraud charges for allegedly providing The New York Times with advanced information on Jiang Zemin's plan to resign from the Central Military Commission. The court dismissed the state secrets charge, for which he was facing a 10 year sentence. However, he was convicted of an unrelated fraud charge, stemming from an accusation that, before working for the Times, Zhao had promised to help a man avoid detention at a labor camp in exchange for 20,000 yuan (equivalent to US $2,500). The trial was also held behind closed doors, but the court announced the verdict to family and local media. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Zhao's lawyer had been refused meetings with Zhao a few times by the authorities. On September 4, 2006, Zhao filed an appeal. On November 2, Zhao was refused an appeal hearing. His lawyer had to plead his case in a written submission to the court.


REASONS BEHIND THE CRACKDOWNS
Renewed efforts to tighten control over the media may be interpreted as the government's immediate response to addressing public discontent over a number of recently exposed official scandals involving land grabs, corruption and environmental hazards. The government appears concerned that media reports of these incidents will fuel social tensions, in particular reports on land grabs and resettlement disputes.

Additionally, the CPC leadership has reiterated the importance of the media in upholding the party's monopoly of power. Amid the rapidly escalating globalization of information technology, the government is wary of any possible conflicts between the free flow of information and state control. The official message is clear—the media must stay within approved reporting boundaries, curb public criticism of the government, or face harsh reprisals.


UNDERSTANDING THE HIERARCHY OF MEDIA CONTROL
All television stations, newspapers and publishing houses are state-owned, which effectively allows the authorities to manipulate public opinion. State influence is exercised through appointment of media personnel, the salary structure and censorship of content. Party loyalty is assumed in this linear top-down system. At each level of government, the Propaganda Department plays a key role in monitoring editors and journalists through a national registration system and mandatory participation in ideological training sessions. Self-censorship is also reinforced under this top-down censorship system with reporters and editors often seeking prior approval from the Propaganda Departments on news stories deemed to be sensitive.

National level:
The Central Organization Department and the Central Propaganda Department of the CPC appoint managers of national media outlets, such as CCTV, People's Daily, and the Xinhua News Agency.

While the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) is the official watchdog of the media industry, the Central Propaganda Department determines national standards of acceptable news content. The Central Propaganda Department distributes propaganda circulars—documents containing specific instructions for the media nationwide—to local branches of the Propaganda Department, which then forwards the circulars to all media outlets. The circulars indicate the process for handling sensitive topics or specific news stories. For example, it lists specific news stories that should not be covered in print or broadcast media.

Local and provincial level:
Local media executives are appointed by provincial party secretaries and deputy provincial heads, who in turn are appointed by the Central Organization Department and the Central Propaganda Department.

Internet:
China has tightened its grip on the Internet in response to the Web's growing nationwide popularity and the rise of Internet activism. The government has invested heavily in network infrastructure that boosts filtering efficiency. Web content is closely monitored. Over a dozen regulations relating to Internet governance are monitored and implemented by the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Information Industry, the Ministry of Culture, and relevant departments of these ministries at various levels.


CENSORSHIP TECHNIQUES: THE COST OF NON-COMPLIANCE
Disciplinary actions of varying severity are imposed on those who do not comply with state content requirements. The following measures target publications and individuals:

For Publications

• Content removal: Sensitive news stories or negative reporting that may embarrass government officials is generally removed. Notable examples are media cover-ups of a series of coal mining accidents in 2005 and the extent of the SARS epidemic in 2003.[1]
  
  
• Publication closures and restructuring: Publications have been closed or suspended for publishing unapproved material. In 2005, the Henan Business News was suspended for one month after it reported on official corruption. Also in recent years, the Tongzhou Gongjin magazine was restructured, the Twenty-first Century World Herald was closed, and the bimonthly journal Strategy and Management was shut down.
  
  
• Website shut-downs: Blogs, Internet forums and video exchange sites have been shut down for posting information considered too controversial or sensitive. Recent examples include the October 2006 closure of a blog of Woeser, a former employee of the Tibet Cultural Association.[2]

For Individuals

• Job dismissals: Recent examples include Huang Liangtian, editor of Bai Xing, Chen Jieren of the Public Interest Times and Yang Bin, editor-in-chief of Beijing News.
  
  
• Financial disincentives: Media reforms in 2003 encouraged media organizations to tie salary to performance. In most cases, performance is determined by the number of published pieces and the readers' feedback. This discourages journalists from covering sensitive topics or writing stories that are likely to be removed from publication, which would affect their income.
  
  
• Banning writers: The CPC Propaganda Department has banned several writers and reformist political commentators, including Jiao Guobiao, Li Rui, (CPC member), Wang Yi (writer and essayist), Yu Jie (writer and essayist), Mao Yushi (director of the Tianze Economic Research Institute) and Yao Lifa (peasants' rights activist in Hubei Province).
  
  
• Party disciplinary punishment: Journalists and editors are subject to disciplinary investigation, and in some cases are expelled from the Party. For example, the former chief editor of Southern Metropolis Daily, Cheng Yizhong, was dismissed from his job and expelled from the Party, although the court cleared him of an allegation of corruption.[3]
  
  
• Arrest and imprisonment: Although press freedom is enshrined in article 35 of the Constitution, journalists are vulnerable to arbitrary interpretation and enforcement of the State Secret laws and other regulations related to national security. When such laws are invoked, journalists are often denied open trials and access to legal counsel. Notable examples of targeted journalists are Zhao Yan and Ching Cheong, who have been accused of "divulging state secrets" and "spying for foreign agencies" respectively. Both are still awaiting trial after extended detentions.
  
  
• Extra-legal (thug) violence: In January 2007, Lan Chengzhang of the China Trade News was beaten to death by unidentified thugs after local officials questioned his media status while he was investigating an illegal mine.

HU'S NEW REGIME REINFORCES CENSORSHIP
The rise of popular media in the late 1990s was once seen as a sign of relaxing state control over the Chinese media. When Hu Jintao was announced as the next president, many saw him as a more liberal-minded reformer who would issue in a more open era. The past two and a half years, however, have seen an increase in restrictive policies and media suppression that are central in controlling freedom of expression.

Regulatory measures

• Reporting during the Olympics: In January 2007, Wen Jiabao signed a decree that reportedly allows foreign journalists to report more freely during the Beijing Olympic Games and the preparatory period. The regulations expire on October 17, 2008, and do not apply to local Chinese journalists.[4] The regulations allow foreign journalists to interview individuals after simply seeking their consent, no longer requiring the approval of the authorities. However, the extent of this improvement may still be curtailed by other contradictory regulations governing emergency responses and state secrets, for instance.
  
  
• New censorship rule introduced: Further control was exerted over the media with the imposition of a pre-approval rule on coverage of politically sensitive topics. In an internal document released to state-run media in January 2007, the Publicity Department of the party's Central Committee said the media should seek permission to cover historic events or anniversaries involving controversial or politically sensitive revolutionary or political figures.[5]
  
  
• Media clampdown extends to courts: On September 12, 2006, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced new rules restricting the release of information on court cases by the media.[6] While the SPC promised to release information on important trials on their own initiatives through a newly established spokesman system that aims to enhance transparency of judicial work, a list of "forbidden zones" is highlighted to prevent unauthorized news reporting:
  
  
  • Media are prohibited from releasing content related to state and commercial secrets or trampling on individual privacy.
    
    
  • All media interviews with court personnel require prior application to and approval by the court.
    
    
  • Judges and court personnel are restrained from exposing details of cases "dealing with national security, ethnic groups, religion, improper emergencies, sensitive issues or involving foreigners and residents from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao."
    
    
  • Cao Jianming, vice president of the SPC, stresses that those offering improper news sources to media and leading to a negative impact would be severely punished.[7] Cao added that media should not "make predictions or conclusive opinions ahead of due judicial processes while covering the cases."[8]
    
    
• Latest measures to limit distribution of news by foreign news agencies: On September 10, 2006, the Xinhua News Agency announced the Measures for Administering the Release of News and Information in China by Foreign News Agencies [外国通讯社在中国境内发布新闻信息管理办法], requiring foreign media to seek approval for distributing news, pictures and graphics in China, and warned against reports that carry content which endangers national security, fans ethnic hatred and racial discrimination or promotes cults and superstition. The Xinhua News Agency is empowered to select news for distribution as well as remove content that it deems forbidden. The authorities justify the stringent censorship of foreign news agencies' materials with the need to "promote healthy and orderly dissemination of news."[9] However, the impetus behind the new rules is clear: to control of the flow of information to the Chinese public.
  
  The new rules target not only foreign news agencies, but also users and subscribers to foreign news agencies. The rules ban individuals and organizations from obtaining and disseminating news except through designated agents approved by the Chinese authorities.[10] Violations of the rules can elicit punishments from warnings to, in severe case, suspension of business licenses of foreign news agencies. Staff members of Xinhua News Agency are subject to disciplinary punishments if they fail to fulfill their responsibility to supervise foreign news disseminated in China and/or to observe the rules themselves.
  
  
• Media to be fined for reporting emergencies: On June 24, 2006, the NPC Standing Committee reviewed a draft law on emergency response [突发事件应对法(草案)] for the first time. Although the full text of the draft law has yet to be made public, news reports revealed that there are specific provisions in the draft law targeting news reports on public emergencies including disasters, health hazards and mass riots.[11] According to the excerpt of the draft law revealed by the media, media organizations and outlets are subject to fines between 50,000 to 100,000 yuan for publishing unauthorized reports of public emergencies. The government argued that these rules were to 'prevent false reporting' which would cause 'grave social consequences'.[12] The draft law also empowers local governments to release information of public emergencies at their discretion, although they also have the responsibility to provide timely information to reporters.
  
  
• New law adopted to justify the extent of control: On September 25, 2005, the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry issued the Rules on the Management of Internet News and Information Services [互联网新闻信息服务管理规定]. Web site operators are required to re-register their news sites and police their sites for content that can "endanger state security" and "social order." Infringement of the Regulation is subject to fines of up to 3,700 yuan and complete closure of Web sites that provide news without government authorization. Essentially, the regulation centralizes all China-based Web news and opinion under a state regulator. Chinese bloggers, bulletin boards on popular portal sites and other independent Chinese-news Web sites are affected. Additionally, the legal definition of Internet "news" has been expanded from "news published and republished" to include "reports and comments on political, economic, military, foreign policy and other social public affairs."
  
  
• Regulation on press registration: On February 16, 2005, the General Administration of Press and Publication announced a new registration system for journalists. New press cards were issued, and journalists throughout the country are required to renew their press cards every five years. Those failing to present a press card while reporting will be punished. For instance, in mid-January 2006, three journalists from the Zhejiang-based Zhonghua Xin Qingnian [New China Youth 《中华新青年》] were sentenced to jail terms ranging from one to ten years for publishing an investigative story on land grabs in the province. Authorities said that the magazine did not have an official license, and thus the reporters did not hold valid press cards for reporting.

Other activities

• Internet security team setup: In June 2005, state media reported that public security officials in Beijing were recruiting and training nearly 4,000 Internet police to monitor activities at Internet cafes and related companies. Eight hundred "Internet security officers" were sent to the city's Internet cafes and 3,000 to other Internet-related businesses. Internet security officers are to report activities including visits to pornographic websites, distribution of banking details or other confidential information, and the "spreading of false information."[13] By 2007, all Internet cafes in Beijing must install closed-circuit television to allow for real-time surveillance of Internet users.[14] Harmful information is to be deleted in order to ensure the safe operation of the Internet. In January 2007, the China Internet Association announced that it ordered the deletion of 2,745 pieces of online information in 2006.[15]
  
  
• Ideological education campaign: On November 17, 2004, Hu Jintao initiated an ideological education campaign aimed at preserving the CPC's monopoly on power and promoting Marxist rectitude and "ideological purity" among cadres. To attain the desired "advanced nature," party members must "rally behind the central party leadership with comrade Hu Jintao."[16] Particular emphasis is placed on tightening party control over public opinion, enforcing a crackdown to restore discipline in state media, and intimidating dissident intellectuals.

STATISTICS AT A GLANCE

• As of July 2005, there are a total of 1,926 newspapers in China, including 218 at the central level, 806 at the provincial level, 848 at the prefecture level and 54 at the county level.[17]
  
  
• There are 150,000 journalists in China, more than 70,000 of whom write for newspapers and magazines. More than 60,000 work in radio broadcasting, television, and other news agencies. Women account for 41 percent of total number of journalists.[18]
  
  
• Seventy-nine newspapers and periodicals were banned and 169 million publications were seized by authorities in 2005. Between 2003 and 2005, the registrations of 202 news bureaus were canceled and 73 others were shut down.[19]
  
  
• China was ranked 163 out of 168 countries in Reporters Without Borders (RSF)'s fifth annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006, dropping from its ranking at 159 in 2005.[20] RSF also reported that 32 journalists remain imprisoned as of January 1, 2006.[21]
  
  
• China was ranked 177 out of 194 countries surveyed in Freedom House's Global Press Freedom Rankings 2005, dropping from its place at 173 in 2003.[22]

RECENT INCIDENTS
January 9, 2007
Lan Chengzhang, news reporter for China Trade News, was beaten to death by unidentified thugs, while collecting information in an illegal coal mine in Datong, Shanxi Province. Local party officials questioned Lan's legitimacy as a reporter.[23]

January 2007
Authorities ordered the closure of a forum series organized by the 21st Century Economic Report and others in Yunnan Province. The forum began in January 2007, and was scheduled to invite one speaker each month. Many of the planned invitees were more liberal and outspoken thinkers. The Web site promoting the forum was also closed.[24]

December 30, 2006
Huang Liangtian was dismissed from his post as editor of Bai Xing. Huang's colleagues believe his dismissal was prompted by the magazine's reporting on land seizures and workers' rights.[25]

November 3, 2006
A journalist and his three assistants were arrested in Lifen, Shanxi Province, while they were investigating an explosion at the Luweitan Coal Mine. The journalists were working for the Beijing magazine Guancha Zoukan. The government has not released their names.[26]

September 18, 2006
Two senior editors of the Guangzhou-based NetEase (http://www.163.com), Tang Yan and Liu Xianghui, were fired. The reason for the firings was not disclosed, but it is believed the two were being punished for conducting an online survey on whether readers would choose to be a Chinese national in their next life.[27]

September 7, 2006
The Web site of a Chinese news monthly magazine, Baixing, has been closed since September 7 for posting accounts of the beating to death of a villager involved in a dispute with developers in eastern China.[28]

August 31, 2006
Ching Cheong, journalist for the Malaysian Straits Times newspaper, was convicted of espionage and sentenced to five years in prison.[29]

August 24, 2006
Zhao Yan, research assistant at The New York Times' Beijing bureau, was convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years in prison.[30]

July 3, 2006
Former editor Li Datong of the weekly supplement Freezing Point (Bing Dian) was refused permission to publish his new book in mainland China, even though the authorities had not yet read his manuscript. Freezing Point, a supplement of the China Youth Daily newspaper, was shut down in January of this year because of a controversial article on the history of the Boxer Rebellion. Although the supplement was later allowed to reopen, Li was forced to resign.[31]

June 15, 2006
Yang Xiaoqing sentenced to one year in prison on charges of extortion after reporting on official corruption.[32]

February 9, 2006
Li Yuanlong, a reporter with the daily Bijie Ribao, was charged with "inciting subversion of state authority" for articles he posted online, having been detained since September 9, 2005.[33]

February 8, 2006
Chen Jieren, 34, chief editor of The Public Interest Times, was sacked after running a story criticizing the English accuracy of the newly launched government website.

February 2, 2006
Wu Xianghu, 41, an editor at the Taizhou Wanbao [Taizhou Evening News 《台州晚报》], died after sustaining injuries from an October 20, 2005, beating by traffic police. The assault came in retribution for a report criticizing high licensing fees for electric bicycles. A senior official was fired for his role in the attack.[34]

January 17, 2006
Zhu Wangxiang and Wu Zheng were convicted by the Liandu district court in Lishui, Zhejiang Province, for publishing sensitive material in the New China Youth magazine without the approval of media authorities.[35]


FURTHER REFERENCES
He Qinglian, Media Control in China, Human Rights in China Report (Hong Kong: Human Rights in China, 2003), http://hrichina.org/public/contents/20205, http://ir2008.org/article.php?sid=102 (translated English excerpt).

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Xinhua – The World's Biggest Propaganda Agency, Reports Without Borders Report, October 2005, http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15172.

Willy Lam, "Hu's Campaign for Ideological Purity Against the West," China Brief 5, No. 2 (Washington DC: The Jamestown Foundation, 2005).

Arnold Zeitlin, "Provincial Politics and the Death of Free Media in China," China Brief 4, No. 7 (Washington DC: The Jamestown Foundation, 2005).

---

ENDNOTES

[1] "Beijing Ordered Media to Cover Up SARS," CBC News, April 3, 2003, http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/04/03/china_sars030403.

[2] "China Shuts Tibetan Blog." Red Herring, October 9, 2006. http://www.redherring.com.

[3] "Newspaper Editor Freed After Graft Sentence", South China Morning Post, August 28, 2004.

[4] http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx/t282169.htm.

[5] "Party introduces new censorship rule," SCMP, 16 January 2007, http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZJDR8ETWE.html.

[6] "China Extends Media Clampdown to Court", Associated Press, September 13, 2006. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060913/ap_on_re_as/china_news_controls.

[7] "Chinese Courts Establish Spokesman System to Ensure Public's 'Right to Know'", People's Daily, September 13, 2006. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200609/13/eng20060913_302340.html.

[8] "Chinese Courts Establish Spokesman System to Ensure Public's 'Right to Know'", People's Daily, September 13, 2006. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200609/13/eng20060913_302340.html.

[9] Article 4, Measures for Administering the Release of News and Information in China by Foreign News Agencies, announced and taken effective on September 10, 2006.

[10] "新华社发布《外国通讯社在中国境内发布新闻信息管理办法》," Xinhuanet, September 10, 2006.

[11] "Mainland Gag Would Include Foreign Media", South China Morning Post, July 4, 2006, http://www.scmp.com/topnews/ZZZFLGX51PE.html.

[12] "Objective Reporting on Disasters Not Affected By New Law", China.org.cn, July 4, 2006, http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Jul/173517.htm. See also "国务院法制办介绍《突发事件应对法(草案)》", China.com, July 3, 2006, http://news.china.com/zh_cn/domestic/945/20060703/13444571.html.

[13] "Beijing to hire thousands more Web police", iol.co.za, June 16, 2005, http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=qw1118920140429B255.

[14] "北京年内所有网吧将安装监控摄像头 (All Internet Cafes in Beijing to Install CCTV by December 2006)", Jinghua Times (via Sina.com), November 23, 2006, http://news.sina.com.cn.

[15] "China deletes nearly 3,000 pieces of harmful on-line information in 2006," People's Daily, 30 January 2007. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200701/30/eng20070130_345849.html.

[16] Hu's speech at the CPC Central Committee Conference on November 7, 2004.

[17] The figures are reported in an industrial report entitled "China National Press Industrial Development Report for Year 2005", by the General Administration of Press and Publication. See, "China publishes its annual press development report for the first time", People's Daily, August 8, 2005, http://english.people.com.cn/200508/08/eng20050808_200950.html.

[18] "China to Severely Punish Fabrication and Bribery in News Reporting", People's Daily, March 23, 2005, http://english.people.com.cn/200503/23/eng20050323_177863.html.

[19] Congressional-Executive Commission On China 2006 Annual Report, http://www.cecc.gov/pages/annualRpt/annualRpt06/Expression.php.

[20] Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006 (Paris: RSF, 2006) Available: http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=639.

[21] Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Annual Report 2006 (Paris: RSF, 2006) Available: http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/report.pdf.

[22] The rankings are taken from the 2003 and 2006 issues of the Freedom in the World. The publication provides an annual comparative assessment of the state of political rights and civil liberties around the world See Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2006 (Washington DC: Freedom House, 2006).

[23] "报社记者在大同煤矿被打死 当地否认其记者身份 (Reporter Beaten to Death in Shanxi Coal Mine)." EastDay.com, 16 January 2007.

[24] "自由派顶尖学者开讲　“二十一世纪兴云讲坛”被封杀," RFA, 26 January 2007. http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2007/01/26/21/.

[25] Reporters Without Borders, "Magazine editor removed because of coverage of corruption and land seizures," January 3, 2007.

[26] "Journalist reportedly arrested for "illegal interviews" with coal miners after accident." Reporters Without Borders, December 1, 2006.

[27] International Herald Tribune, "Chinese Web site shut down for publicizing beating death of villager, editor says," September 7, 2006, http://www.iht.com.

[28] "Website editors axed after poll on nationality preference for next life," South China Morning Post, September 18, 2006.

[29] Human Rights in China, "Ching Cheong Sentence "Deeply Troubling," August 31, 2006.

[30] Jim Yardley and Joseph Kahn, "Top Charge Dropped, but China Gives Times Researcher 3 Years," The New York Times, August 25, 2006.

[31] "新闻悍將新书未出先禁 冰点前主编谈封对改革影响(Former Editor of Freezing Point Not Allowed to Publish New Book)", Ming Pao, July 3,2006, http://www.mingpaonews.com/20060703/cab1.htm.

[32] "No verdict in China New York Times trial", CNN.com, June 16, 2006.

[33] "CPJ calls for release of journalist Li Yuanlong", Committee to Protect Journalists News Alert, February 27 2006 http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/asia/china27feb06na.html.

[34] "Journalist dies from assault; media crackdown continues," International Freedom Information eXchange (IFEX), http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/72063/.

[35] "Journalists jailed in China for publicizing land disputes," Agence France Presse, January 18, 2006.