A proposal to ban private investment in Chinese news outlets has been viewed by critics as a further attempt by Beijing to control all sectors of the media.

Under draft guidelines posted to the website of China’s National Development and Reform Commission this month, privately owned companies would be prohibited from involvement in media companies, including setting up or running news operations or republishing news produced by foreign outlets.

Political analysts and journalists who have worked for Chinese media say the proposals show Beijing’s ongoing efforts to silence opposition voices.

"The Communist Party is trying to put all news and commentary shows under its own control. All different voices have been eliminated,” Wu Zuolai, a Chinese political commentator, told VOA’s Mandarin Service.

The proposals sparked discussion on Chinese online forums including Zhihu, where many said they believed the regulation would lead to a further decline of media freedom.

“Limiting the role of the media will distort public opinions, and local governments might enforce the rule with extremely strict measures,” one poster on Zhihu said.

Others said the rules could bring an end to “anyone holding a microphone asking for your opinions on the street in the future,” or lead to a need to be more cautious on social media.

China already ranks poorly for media freedom, ranking 177th out of 180 countries, where 1 is the freest, on the annual index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

As well as being the leading jailer of journalists, China has state- and privately owned media under “ever-tighter control, while the administration creates more and more obstacles for foreign reporters,”

(VOA)