This is just such a classic you'll have to read the entire AP story for yourself:
A news story describing a successful launch of China's long-awaited space mission and including detailed dialogue between astronauts launched on the Internet Thursday, hours before the rocket had even left the ground.The country's official news agency Xinhua posted the article on its Web site Thursday, and remained there for much of the day before it was taken down.
A staffer from the Xinhuanet.com Web site who answered the phone Thursday said the posting of the article was a "technical error" by a technician. The staffer refused to give his name as is common among Chinese officials.
The Shenzhou 7 mission, which will feature China's first-ever spacewalk, ended up launching Thursday from Jiuquan in northwestern China late in the evening.
The article, dated two days from now on Sept. 27, vividly described the rocket in flight, complete with a sharply detailed dialogue between the three astronauts.
Excerpts are below:
"After this order, signal lights all were switched on, various data show up on rows of screens, hundreds of technicians staring at the screens, without missing any slightest changes ...
'One minute to go!'
'Changjiang No.1 found the target!'...
"The firm voice of the controller broke the silence of the whole ship. Now, the target is captured 12 seconds ahead of the predicted time ...
'The air pressure in the cabin is normal!'
"Ten minutes later, the ship disappears below the horizon. Warm clapping and excited cheering breaks the night sky, echoing across the silent Pacific Ocean."
Video of Shenzhou 7's liftoff from Youku
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We should condemn Xinhua's shoddy journalism. That's for sure.And i think Chinese will mock Xinhua if they know. But just let you know, BBC did the same thing. During the Olympic torch relay in London, BBC reporter in China reported at 6:30pm that CCTV's Xinwenlianbo program(news broadcast), which stars 7 pm every night, did not mention the torch relay disruption in London as a result of news cover-up. Half hour before the CCTV news program started!!! genius!
Hmm.... that is news to me. Have you got a link for that?
Vigilant China blog patrollers always catch convenient biased, evil Western journalism stories to counter current China media muckup posts to deflect attention!!
Way to go richardlee!!!!
But I'm sure the rest of the mission will be reported with accuracy! HA!
Since ancient times, outer space has always been an inseparable part of unified China.
@richardlee
The censoring of news in China is so boring and predictable, that BBC could put it down in advance and still be 100% right. In terms of journalism, unacceptable, of course.
Probably the Shenhua start was orchestrated in such minute detail including the expected conversations, that Xinhua could post it and be sure it would be accurate.
Or was someone at Xinhua sabotaging so to expose and ridicule the fabrication and falsification of news in China?
@richardlee
The censoring of news in China is so boring and predictable, that BBC could put it down in advance and still be 100% right. In terms of journalism, unacceptable, of course.
Probably the Shenhua start was orchestrated in such minute detail including the expected conversations, that Xinhua could post it and be sure it would be accurate.
Or was someone at Xinhua sabotaging so to expose and ridicule the fabrication and falsification of news in China?
I remember the BBC snafu during the torch relay. We laughed about that one then, just as I must laugh about this new report. :-)
The irony is everything xinhua wrote happened.
Richardlee, there is a difference:
1) It is well known that Chinese news orgs follow patterns and have certain instructions on what matters they will and will not report. For example, I could have told you before Xinhua reported on the Tibet crisis that Xinhua would not mention the crackdowns on the peaceful protests that predated the riots in Lhasa.
2) The BBC did not go through the entire run-down of an event point by point as if it had already happened. They anticipated a detail instead of releasing a whole story. This would be less important for other events, but a launch is a risky thing. Imagine if there had been a problem? That would have been a PR nightmare.
The creation of this news story is not a big deal in itself though. Everyone creates news before it happens. Xinhua already had a rundown of how everything would go. Therefore, someone was just trying to save time by writing the story early and filling in the key details later. I have done it before myself.
The boo boo was that Xinhua accidentally released the story before they were supposed to. For that, they deserve to be laughed at. Next time, if things DON'T go according to plan, the consequences will be much worse.
Oh, and dsk, there was no irony. Most big events are scripted. My company writes press releases with quotes of speeches that executives will give before the executives give the speeches. This is because the speeches are written by the company or agreed upon in advance. So we know what the executives will say. This said, you would NEVER release a press release that had all of that info in it before the event happened. After all, what if the executive suddenly flubbs his lines, sending the hall into uproarious laughter?
It is so interesting to see reactions here. I did not defend anything but just told you a fact similar to this one. I have no judgement here. But suddenly some guys become so emotional. I didnot criticize any parties. But if i want to criticize BBC for example, do i have the right to do so? You guys just show how great you are, how tolerant you are! Don't tell me Chinese are not open to different opinions. just look at yourself! you are no better than Chinese, even by an inch!
BTW, that night, unfortunately, CCTV DID report the torch disruption, since it found that it could not ignore this kind of news any more, like they did for the Turkey leg.
Just read Southern Weekend before you talk about predicatability issue. have a second thought when you say: Chinese news orgs all follow patterns....blah,blah... Just like you hate to hear "western media is all biased" or" we Chinese...". Over-generalizatin is everywhere!!!
To taihanasie
--"Xinhua would not mention the crackdowns on the peaceful protests that predated the riots in Lhasa".
Yes if BBC would not mention the riot BEFORE the crackdown. It was only until "Economist" confirmed the riot (since God forbit westerners to listen to Chinese) that BBC admitted reluctantly the happening of riot. That's the reason why I, unlike you, always seek the whole picture from Xinhua plus CNN (not BBC) divide two.
I am glad west media at last spoke of Lhasa riot as part of truth, no matter whether they called rioters as freedom fighters or lynching mobsters as they used to call Bin Ladin or blacks in LA or whether they treated rioters chasing foreign settlers in S. Africa and German neo-nazi calling "Auslander aus" the same way. Don't forget Daliar had called the dealy riot a peaceful protest for a full month till he changed his tone. I am also glad, when he told a new crackdown with 140 Tibeten deads, west media thought twice in reporting, since Daliar still owed Beijing a detailed 200 deadlist list he promised. Up to now he only supplied 40, with ALL faked names. Of course BBC will never let foot-soldiers on bandwagen like you know it, as it's a democratic secret in the hidden geopolitical agenda. lol!
Once again, richardlee and eastman give us all the impression that Chinese are idiots with small penises and smaller brains.
To Buck Rogerz
What time can you finally manage to pull that Daliar used condom out of your big mouth on the nightpot above your redneck? Jiayou!
Buck Rogerz: you are so very wrong.
You silly little men constantly must change the topic to defend you childish sense of national pride. Of course, no proof is necessary for your irrelevant claims and you behave as if bringing up unrelated issues you somehow lends dignity to your nation. What a joke! You are a bunch of stereotypes!
Just goes to show what a small minded, chemically polluted wreckage of a culture and nation China is.
Has anyone actually seen a Chinese guy spacewalk? Like with their own eyes? Did Zhang Yimou have a hand in this whole production?
Buck Rogerz:
Are you a gay? why do you want to know my dick size? oh, no,no,no....
To Buck Rogerz
"change the topic"? Was it the topic of Lhasa riot that made you think of the size of penis, of Daliar Lama?
To WatchBagDVD
When was the last time BBC faked a story and got fined? But sure the story was not about a faked moon landing.
To nanheyangrouchuan,
Go free-market buy vegetable dont forget busket.
Our space accomplishments are evident in the large space station and the probes and telescopes that can see the lunar vehicles we left behind.
The only space China has entered is the space between Chinese peoples' ears.
To nanheyangrouchuan,
--"The only space China has entered is the space between Chinese peoples' ears"?
Go take some medicine, but not the wrong one as always you did.
Chances are it will have melamine or lead, or both in it.
It's true: in a recently de-classified document, NASA reveals that astronauts who landed on the Moon discovered evidence that the Moon is indeed a renegade province of China. That's why moon missions were abruptly ended in the early '70s and why the U.S. hasn't returned since. (although Jack Nicholaus has offerred his services to the chinese government to design golf courses there)
The astronauts also discovered that the moon is, in fact, made of green malamine-enhanced cheese.
To nanheyangrouchuan,
I wonder medicines can still help to an diot like you who, seeing JV Sanlu made a huge profit by adding malamine to milk, start to add milk to melamine instead, while selling melamine.
To NannyState/WatchBagDVD
I remember it was discovered the moon was made by Dow Corning, approved by FDA but leaking like old toilet. Though you never connected the scandal to your government and ask for compensation, I still hope you two can manage to remove them before cremation since it will definitely cost more with that four balls in your chests.
^hahaha!
Anyone would know that Dow Corning couldn't make a leaky toilet.
@ Buck : haha, i love you !
hard to believe, but China is still communist..; er... that's a Chinese friend who told me that. And maybe this dialog, and this press release were part of the current 5-years plan ?? But press did better that taikonauts : these ones were one day late !
let's bash them, and not the press, which is free now, since China had Olymics... ^^