TEMPO.CO, Beijing - China's Ministry of Truth has ordered the media to censor all news mentioning the press freedom index, as reported by Reporters without Borders (RWB), as the country is at the fifth bottom of the rankings.

As reported by The Register, The State Council Information Office issued an order through China Digital Times that, "All websites are kindly asked to delete the article '180 Countries Ranked in 2013 Press Freedom Index; China at 175th' and related content."

Although censorships occur on a daily basis in China, the decision is shocking as President Xi Jinping has promised to bring a change, including cleaning up the Party from corruptions.

The daily 'directives' to the traditional media from the Department of Propaganda, the constant online censorship, the growing number of arbitrary arrests and the detention of the largest number of journalists and netizens in the world (including 2010 Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiabo) have made China a model of censorship and repression," the RWB stated, as quoted from The Register.

The head of the RWB Asia-Pacific Desk, Benjamin Ismail said Asian countries apply stricter regulation on online media news. He said the Internet guarantees no freedom, while press freedom would be attained if the government made efforts to protect journalists.

THE REGISTER | RWB | RAJU FEBRIAN