Obama’s inauguration censored

China censored its translation of President Barack Obama’s inauguration speech, removing references to communism and dissent, and quickly halted state television’s live broadcast of the address when Cold War-era animosities were mentioned.

One television official tried to downplay the cutaway as a normal break in programming while an editor with the China Daily newspaper’s Web site said staff who censored online versions of the speech likely did so because they were “duty-bound to protect the country’s interests.”

The news channel of state broadcaster China Central Television broadcast the speech live early Wednesday local time, but appeared caught off-guard by Obama’s reference to how earlier generations of Americans had “faced down fascism and communism.”

The audio quickly faded out from Obama’s speech and cameras cut back to the studio anchor, who asked a U.S.-based CCTV reporter what challenges the president faces in turning around the economy.

China’s ruling Communist Party maintains a tight grip over its entirely state-run media. Beijing frequently decries foreign interference in its internal affairs.

The China Daily Web site, the official Xinhua News Agency, and popular online portals Sina and Sohu all used a translation of the speech that omitted the word “communism” from the sentence that tripped up the news anchor.

“Our translators and editors on the evening shift would make those decisions independently,” said the editor, who refused to give his name. “As Chinese, we are duty-bound to protect the country’s interests.”