In the midst of escalating trade tensions between China and the United States and increasing pressure on the Chinese economy due to the downturn, the Chinese Communist authorities have further tightened their regulation of the capital market while strengthening control over financial and economic discourse.
The Supreme People’s Court and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued the “Guiding Opinions on Strict and Just Law Enforcement to Ensure High-Quality Development of the Capital Market”, a guiding document aimed at strengthening the coordination between judicial and administrative organs to provide protection for the so-called “high-quality development” of the Chinese capital market. However, this move is seen as the latest measure by the authorities to enhance control over market discourse in the face of economic challenges.
This document, consisting of 23 measures, covers areas such as investor protection, market behavior norms, and judicial-administrative cooperation. Of particular note is the provision targeting “short articles”, which refer to unverified market rumors or comments.
Under the document, if such actions harm others’ interests and constitute a crime, the courts will support victims in filing civil compensation lawsuits and hold individuals criminally responsible. This is seen as a direct response to the phenomenon of “short articles” that have rapidly spread through social media in recent years, triggering market fluctuations.
“Short articles” typically refer to market rumors, comments, or analyses from unofficial and unverified sources that widely circulate on social platforms, affecting market sentiment and stock price trends.
The wording regarding “short articles” in the document has raised further concerns in society about freedom of speech.
On mainland Chinese social media, some netizens have raised questions such as, “Is it considered price manipulation if one manipulates stock prices using their financial advantage?” Another netizen remarked, “Short articles mostly originate from overseas sources, how can they be cracked down on?” and “Legal sanctions focus on what people have done rather than what they have said.”
In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has continuously strengthened its control over financial and economic information on the internet. In 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China launched the “Clean and Bright” campaign, targeting self-media platforms, commercial websites, and others to combat content that distorts the interpretation of economic policies or casts a negative outlook on the Chinese market. Subsequently, these policies have been gradually escalated, leading to a large number of self-media accounts being restricted or shut down.
These measures have sparked widespread controversy regarding the balance between freedom of speech and market order. Analysts point out that behind the Chinese Communist Party’s reinforcement of capital market regulation lies a dual anxiety over the economic downturn and external pressures.
Regarding the CCP’s control over public opinion, former professor at the Central Party School, Cai Xia, once said on overseas social media platforms that the CCP has forcibly turned the entire mainland into a “silent and silent land”.
Tian Xie, a visiting professor at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, previously told Epoch Times that the Chinese Communist Party has always been afraid of being exposed for economic falsification. Even reporting overseas data truthfully through self-media can reflect the economic downturn in China, which instills fear in the CCP because politics and economics are inherently linked.