I have noticed a pattern of negative coverage of China by the New York Times from "hacking from China" (often indirectly implicating the government), to currency manipulation, to goods dumping. I'm concerned that I may be consuming a warped perspective. It seems like the New York Times is creating a case against China. Is it merited?

It's important to make a strong effort to substantiate negative claims. So, it is in that spirit that I ask: is the criticism raised in this article fair? Does China have an anomalous record on freedom of the press by comparison to other nations of similar development (BRIC, APEC, etc)?