Glued Geographic

by Geoffrey A. Fowler

National Geographic magazine dedicated its May issue to China, but some in China had trouble reading it — because pages had been glued together.

The May 2008 issue of National Geographic met with the glue sticks of China's censors (Photo by Sky Canaves)

Readers of the 5,000 copies of the English-language edition distributed in China have reported that pages 44 and 45, which show a map of China, were stuck together. These pages didn't make the often-censored slip-up of treating Taiwan as a separate country, but the concern might have been labeling several borders disputed with Pakistan and India. Another map, on pages 126 and 127, showing the distribution of China's ethnic minorities, was also glued, perhaps because of recent sensitivities over the country's Tibetan population.

Pages 100 and 101, which feature controversial artwork, as well as pages 128 and 129, on dissent, were also censored, presumably for more obvious reasons.

Beth Foster, the magazine's director of communications, says, "It appears that someone connected with local magazine distribution in Asia glued together a few pages of the May English-language issues of National Geographic magazine that were shipped into China. We have not gotten to the bottom of the specifics of this isolated activity, but we have had no communication from or with the Chinese government about this matter."

Calls to China's General Administration of Press and Publication were not answered on Wednesday.

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