Meanwhile, millions of volunteers swarmed to Sichuan to help with rescue efforts. Often self-organised and financed by spontaneous donations from throughout China and the world, people were allowed to pitch in, raising expectations that a new era of civil society shaped by democracy, equality and mutual help had arrived.

The Central Propaganda Department soon put a stop to that. It began issuing bans on coverage of issues it believed would 'jeopardise social stability' or embarrass the government. The harassment of reporters, especially foreigners, began again. Most foreign reporters were expelled from the area and Chinese reporters were forced to toe the party line.

Media coverage of shoddily built school buildings whose collapse killed thousands of students, and petitions to local authorities by heart-broken parents for truth and justice over the deaths of their children, was - and still is - harshly repressed.

Subjects forbidden for coverage include complaints about the government's continuing response to the disaster, the spending of donated relief and reconstruction funds, information cover-ups, official corruption and inefficient reconstruction efforts. This month, as the quake anniversary approaches, propaganda officials backed by local governments have made it clear to media that the already well-defined no-go zones remain in place.

'Conflicts between local authorities and quake victims, and among different ethnic groups in minority-populated areas are all banned,' said a reporter from a Guangdong-based newspaper who has been covering the quake anniversary in Sichuan.

'The maintenance of social stability is the most important focus for local authorities, and our interviews are always halted in the field.

'Victim lists, especially the student death toll, must be based on official data, and independent investigation and speculation is strictly banned,' another media source said.

One media ban order said: 'The collapse of buildings should be explained in a scientific way without drawing subjective conclusions.' Many reporters have had stories censored when they touched on certain issues. 'I wrote a story on the abuse of relief funds by Beichuan county officials in their automobile procurement, but the story was killed,' said another reporter from a newspaper based in Chengdu .

Since last December, artist Ai Weiwei has organised an independent investigation into the death toll among students, and his volunteers have been repeatedly detained and harassed while attempting to make a tally of the number of Sichuan students killed in the quake.

His blogs disclosing the information have been deleted from the internet and discussion of his investigation has been censored. Sichuan police last month detained activist writer Tan Zuoren for 'inciting subversion of state power' while he was trying to gather data to make a list of schoolchildren killed in the quake and help their parents seek justice. He is still in prison.

Meanwhile, self-organised volunteers have been stymied in their efforts to help with reconstruction as the public passion for relief donations has waned and official resistance to their efforts has grown. Many volunteer groups and international non-governmental organisations have complained they cannot get official co-operation or policy guarantees due to local authorities' deep mistrust of NGO activities and participation by the international community.

'In practice, it's very hard for us to pursue long-term projects without a legitimate status, and co-operation from local authorities,' said a volunteer from Chengdu. 'The volunteer campaigns in Sichuan are disorganised. Most volunteers dispersed several months after the quake due to lack of organisation and sustainable resource support.

'It's crucial to have organised management and scientific guidance,' said the volunteer, who is supporting several families out of his own pocket. 'Besides, the local authorities should be more open and co-operative in inviting international NGOs and volunteer groups to come in with their professional reconstruction experience and resources, rather than creating obstacles. I don't trust the financial transparency of any official organisation, so I do it [make donations] in my own way.'

Social analyst and columnist A Ji said regional protectionism by the Sichuan government and the blocking of information on sensitive issues had disheartened many volunteers.

'China is never short of volunteers, but is short of a systematic framework for volunteers,' he added.