The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online.
State Council Information Office: Effective immediately, find and delete all news related to the 6/22 Hong Kong referendum, thoroughly clean up related comments, and promptly send a work report [on your progress]. Forcibly cancel blogs and microblog posts reprinting harmful information. Ensure that no information related to the referendum appears online. Guangdong Province is to cut signal on all programs from Hong Kong television stations, especially on June, 22. (June 23, 2014)
国信办：全网查删香港622公投一切相关有害信息，全面清理跟帖评论，立即执行，并及时反馈工作情况。对于反复发表相关有害信息的博客、微博客强制注销，确保全网不出现公投的任何信息。广东省切断所有香港电视台的节目信号，特别是6月22日。
With organizers hoping for 100,000 participants in Hong Kong’s ten-day unofficial referendum on electoral reform, the number of votes surpassed 689,000 on Sunday June 22, despite what the New York Times described as “one of the most severe cyberattack of its kind ever seen” on the online voting platform [inaccessible a the time of this posting]. The referendum, organized by members of Hong Kong’s Occupy Central With Peace and Love movement, has met staunch opposition from Beijing. BBC’s China Media report rounds up state media attacks on the unofficial Hong Kong poll:
