China Tightens Control Over Media At Two Sessions Meetings

Journalists gather near a painting of Potala Palace during a deliberation on the government work report by Tibet delegations, on the sideline of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the

This year, China's national legislature, known as the Two Sessions, resumed its annual in-person meetings without the stringent COVID-19 restrictions that had been in place. However, the meetings have become more tightly scripted to convey Chinese leader Xi Jinping's message, limiting spontaneity and open engagement.

The sessions, which lasted just one week compared to their previous length, no longer allow mingling between delegates and journalists. Reporters have been physically barred from approaching officials, and the premier's news conference, a three-decade tradition, was canceled this year.