Officials are also urging the media to "emphasize positive propaganda" and "uphold unity, stability and encouragement."
Here in Dujiangyan, police briefly detained several journalists Tuesday and hauled away 100 parents who had threatened to file a lawsuit against local officials over poor construction standards at Ju- yuan Middle School, where several hundred students died, the Associated Press reported.
On Wednesday, police and paramilitary blocked access by the news media and local residents to the school, which had crumbled even as most nearby buildings remained standing.
A neighbor surnamed Gong who declined to give his first name, citing fears of government retribution, said that authorities had repeatedly prevented angry parents from gathering at the site. "The government really didn't do enough to rescue them, and the construction quality was very bad," he said.
Beijing has called for an investigation of shoddy construction. It remains to be seen, however, whether it will side with the parents and launch a meaningful anti-corruption inquiry or whitewash the problem and shield wrongdoing.
Ultimately, some analysts said, Beijing is fighting a losing battle in attempting to stifle the media, Web traffic and broader human rights. Reporters and editors in the last several weeks have gotten a taste of covering news under relatively free conditions. That will encourage many to push the limits.
The public, for its part, has gotten a taste of vivid, dramatic reporting that contrasts sharply with much of the traditionally staid fare.
"What's happened is historic," said Ying Chan, journalism school dean at Shantou University in Guangdong. "Life has been transformed. . . . It's like the Vietnam War, which for the first time brought battle live into people's living rooms. They'll rein it in, but you can never go completely back."
Even as it cracks down, however, China is mixing Western public relations techniques into its media approach.
"They've learned spin tactics from America, Europe, U.S. political ads," said Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project at UC Berkeley. "They've become quite sophisticated."
As part of its so-called main melody strategy, the propaganda ministry is willing to allow more "discordant notes" and critical opinions on the Internet as long as the party line is predominant. It also has become more adept at distraction.
