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written for Chinese publications and have not experienced any such issues. Several
analysts noted that they have heard that their articles and reports have been translated
into Chinese in neibu (internal circulation) channels for consumption by think tanks
and government officials. One interviewee commented that if what she writes is
positive, it is published openly; if it is critical, it is only published internally.

A number of interviewees also reported that their work had been improperly published
on Chinese websites. Sohu has taken think-tank reports and put them online without
permission; one analyst forced the company to take them down from the web. Another
scholar reported that a Chinese think tank at one point claimed she was one of its
fellows and posted bogus content on its website that it alleged she had written.

While some of the think-tank scholars interviewed have had their books translated
into Chinese by mainland presses, most have not. A growing number do not try,
recognizing that significant parts of their books would never make it past the censors.
When informed privately by the translator of her book that large portions were being
excised, one scholar halted the Chinese publication process. Another scholar battled
for two years with the Chinese publisher after the contract had been signed between
the Western and Chinese publishers. The State Press and Publishing Administration
demanded more than seventy deletions, finally settling on five with the agreement
of the scholar. In the end, however, the Chinese publisher informed the scholar’s
publisher that the book could not proceed to publication because of “unfriendly
remarks” the scholar had been making in the media. Most US scholars simply do not
bother with mainland publishers and look for publication opportunities in Taiwan or
Hong Kong. Several US scholars believe that there are pirated copies of their books or
at least partially translated copies available within China. At least one scholar found
that a search on Baidu yielded half of her most recent book online.

Not all scholars are willing to sacrifice the opportunity to be published in China.
One analyst reported that a senior non-China expert at their think tank permitted
his book to be published in China, even though several pages had been mistranslated
and the editors had actually created some new passages that did not exist anywhere
in the original text. Even the title and subtitle of the book, as well as the author’s own
professional title, were incorrectly identified.

Public Voice

The issue of censorship also arises in the context of how think-tank analysts present
their own views publicly, especially when in China. On the whole, think-tank scholars
show determination to raise sensitive topics and be forthright in presenting their
views. But it is an understandable human instinct to want to be polite and diplomatic
while still conveying one’s own views honestly. As one scholar, who also does a lot of

Section 5

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