Daily Archives: January 7, 2013

Hundreds of people demonstrated in support of media freedom in China on Monday outside the offices of a newspaper at the centre of a censorship row, in a rare public display of anger on the issue.

The protesters were outside the Southern Weekly's office in Guangzhou, with one banner reading: "We want press freedom, constitutionalism and democracy".

The demonstration in the southern city came after censors on Thursday blocked a New Year article in the popular liberal newspaper which called for the realisation of a "dream of constitutionalism in China" to protect rights.

Some of the journalists working at the newspaper said they intended to strike over the row in Internet postings on Sunday evening.

All Chinese media organisations are subject to instructions from government propaganda departments, which often suppress news seen as "negative" by the ruling Communist Party, although some publications take a more critical stance.

On Friday a liberal Chinese journal's website, Annals of the Yellow Emperor, was shut down after it published an appeal for leaders to guarantee constitutional rights, including freedom of speech and assembly.

The crackdown on freedom of expression comes despite pledges of change from the new leadership, headed by president-in-waiting Xi Jinping, which has promised a more open style of governance since the Communist Party congress in November.

Police allowed the demonstration, which was made up of mainly young people, who were carrying posters and scattering chrysanthemums, a flower used at funerals in China which has become the protesters' symbol for the loss of press freedom.

The censorship at the Southern Weekly sparked online uproar from netizens, including the newspaper's staff.

Some Internet reports said strike action was agreed by staff after senior editors took control of the newspaper's posts on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, from day-to-day journalists.

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Protesters gather at China newspaper in censorship row

Journalists and editors at an influential and often outspoken newspaper in China have gone on strike in protest of government censorship. The dispute involves a local propaganda official who allegedly called for changes to the publication's annual New Years editorial to its readers. The standoff at the Southern Weekly newspaper is growing from an internal dispute into a national debate about government oversight of the media.

The influential newspaper has long been known for its outspokenness and independent-minded efforts to cover the news in a country where information is a tightly controlled commodity.

Employees say that when they returned from an annual New Years holiday last Thursday they discovered that a section of the paper that was to discuss the touchy topic of constitutional reform had been dramatically changed. That prompted an uproar.

The uproar came first online - on blogs and other Twitter-like Weibo social media sites - with staffers accusing the propaganda chief where the paper is based, in Guangdong province, of making the changes and then, on Monday, in the form of protests outside the companys offices.

Photos of the protesters that managed to briefly get posted online before they were taken down showed some holding up signs and shouting slogans calling for freedom of speech, democracy and political reform.

Li Datong, a former prominent Chinese editor who was fired from a state media organization for his views, says the apparent intervention by the propaganda department appears to be a new tactic for state censors.

"The propaganda department has already changed from the previous mode of censorship after publication to what we see now as a move towards censorship before publication," said Li. "It does not matter if it was Tuo Zhen, himself, but it was the propaganda department that did this. They have transformed what was control after publication to control before publication. This is a very nasty beginning."

Dozens of academics and editors have already begun openly calling, on line, for the resignation of the propaganda chief. Students from Chinas Nanjing University and others have posted pictures of themselves online as well holding cards that cheered the newspaper on urging it to Jia You in Chinese, which means "Go."

Some are already beginning to believe the dispute could become a watershed event that promotes much deeper reforms.

Since Xi Jinping took over as head of the Communist Party in November, journalists have been taking bolder steps in testing the limits of the countrys new team of leaders both in reporting and on editorial pages.

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Censorship Fight at Newspaper in China Grows

BEIJING A dispute over censorship at a Chinese newspaper known for edgy reporting evolved Monday into a political challenge for China's new leadership as prominent scholars demanded a censor's dismissal and hundreds of protesters called for democratic reforms.

The scholars and protesters were acting in support of the newspaper in its confrontation with a top censor after the publication was forced to change a New Year's editorial calling for political reform into a tribute praising the ruling Communist Party. Rumors circulated that at least one of the newspaper's news departments was going on strike, but they could not be immediately confirmed.

CBS News' Shuai Zhang says the situation escalated over the weekend, as the newspaper's management apparently seized control of the paper's official account on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, which has almost 4 million followers in the vast country.

A statement was issued on the account claiming the controversial front-page editorial had been written by staff, and was not a forced alteration.

Editorial staff at the paper, called Southern Weekly, then used their own Weibo accounts to refute the fake message, and decided to stage a strike over the government's apparent hijacking of the account. The social media editor of the paper said on Wiebo that he had lost control of the newspaper's official account and that it was now being updated by the paper's management.

Shuai adds that if staff members do go on strike, it would be the first time in more than two decades that the editorial staff of a major newspaper had openly protested government censorship.

Protesters gathered outside the offices of the newspaper in the southern city of Guangzhou to lay flowers at the gate, hold signs and shout slogans calling for freedom of speech, political reform, constitutional governance and democracy.

"I feel that the ordinary people must awaken," said one of the protesters, Yuan Fengchu, who was reached by phone. "The people are starting to realize that their rights have been taken away by the Communist Party and they are feeling that they are being constantly oppressed."

The protest came as 18 Chinese academics signed an open letter calling for the dismissal of Tuo Zhen, a provincial propaganda minister blamed for the censorship.

The protesting scholars included legal professors, liberal economists, historians and writers.

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China newspaper in rare stand against censorship

Today, scores of Chinese protested outside China's Southern Weekly newspaper, backing reporters who went on strike against what they say is government censorship of its coverage.

Scores of supporters of one of China's most liberal newspapers demonstrated outside its headquarters on Monday in a rare protest against censorship, backing an unusual strike by journalists against interference by the provincial propaganda chief.

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The protest in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, comes amid an escalating standoff between the government and the people over press freedom. It is also an early test of Communist Party Chief Xi Jinping's commitment to reform.

The outcry began late last week after reporters at the influential Southern Weekly newspaper accused censors of replacing an original New Year's letter to readers that called for a constitutional government with another piece lauding the party's achievements.

Police allowed the demonstration outside the headquarters of the Southern Group, illustrating that the Guangdong government, led by newly appointed and rising political star Hu Chunhua, wants to tread carefully to contain rising public anger over censorship.

The protesters, most of them young, laid down small hand-written signs that said "freedom of expression is not a crime" and "Chinese people want freedom". Many clutched yellow chrysanthemums, symbolising mourning the death of press freedom.

"The Nanfang (Southern) Media Group is relatively willing to speak the truth in China so we need to stand up for its courage and support it now," Ao Jiayang, a young NGO worker with bright orange dyed hair, told Reuters.

"We hope that through this we can fight for media freedom in China," Mr. Ao said. "Today's turnout reflects that more and more people in China have a civic consciousness."

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Chinese stage protests, strikes against media censorship

A row over censorship at a Chinese newspaper has turned into a political challenge for the country's new leadership after a series of protests.

The action was in support of the Southern Weekly in its confrontation with a top censor after it was forced to change a New Year's editorial calling for political reform into a tribute praising the ruling Communist Party.

Protesters, including schoolchildren and white-collar workers, gathered outside the offices of the newspaper in the southern city of Guangzhou to lay flowers at the gate, hold signs and shout slogans calling for freedom of speech, political reform, constitutional governance and democracy.

"I feel that the ordinary people must awaken," said one of the protesters, Yuan Fengchu. "The people are starting to realise that their rights have been taken away by the Communist Party and they are feeling that they are being constantly oppressed."

Political expression in the public sphere is often viewed as risky in China, where the government frequently harasses and even jails dissidents for pro-democracy calls.

Another protester, Guangzhou writer and activist Wu Wei, who goes by the pen name Ye Du, said the protest marked a rare instance in which people were making overt calls for political freedom since large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations were crushed in a military crackdown in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

"In other cities, we've seen people march, but most of the time they are protesting environmental pollution or people's livelihood issues," he said. "Here they are asking for political rights, the right to protest. The Southern Weekly incident has provided an opportunity for citizens to voice their desires."

The protest came as 18 Chinese academics signed an open letter calling for the dismissal of Tuo Zhen, a provincial propaganda minister blamed for the censorship. The scholars included legal professors, liberal economists, historians and writers.

Peking University law professor He Weifang, who was among them, said the newspaper's good work needed to be defended from censorship. "Southern Weekly is known as a newspaper that exposes the truth, but after Tuo Zhen arrived in Guangdong, he constantly pressured the paper. We need to let him know that he can't do this," he said. "This incident is a test to see if the new leadership is determined to push political reform."

Six weeks ago, China installed a new generation of Communist Party leaders for the next five years, with current Vice President Xi Jinping at the helm. Some of his announcements for a trimmed-down style of leadership, with reduced waste and fewer unnecessary meetings, have raised hopes in some quarters that he might favour deeper reforms in the political system to mollify a public long frustrated by local corruption.

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Chinese paper in censorship dispute

GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Scores of supporters of one of China's most liberal newspapers demonstrated outside its headquarters on Monday in a rare protest against censorship, backing an unusual strike by journalists against interference by the provincial propaganda chief.

The protest in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, comes amid an escalating standoff between the government and the people over press freedom. It is also an early test of Communist Party Chief Xi Jinping's commitment to reform.

The outcry began late last week after reporters at the influential Southern Weekly newspaper accused censors of replacing an original New Year's letter to readers that called for a constitutional government with another piece lauding the party's achievements.

Police allowed the demonstration outside the headquarters of the Southern Group, illustrating that the Guangdong government, led by newly appointed and rising political star Hu Chunhua, wants to tread carefully to contain rising public anger over censorship.

The protesters, most of them young, laid down small hand-written signs that said "freedom of expression is not a crime" and "Chinese people want freedom". Many clutched yellow chrysanthemums, symbolizing mourning the death of press freedom.

"The Nanfang (Southern) Media Group is relatively willing to speak the truth in China so we need to stand up for its courage and support it now," Ao Jiayang, a young NGO worker with bright orange dyed hair, told Reuters.

"We hope that through this we can fight for media freedom in China," Ao said. "Today's turnout reflects that more and more people in China have a civic consciousness."

The attention paid to the protest domestically highlights the unique position of Guangdong, China's wealthiest and most liberal province and the birthplace of the country's "reform and opening up" program. In a symbolic move, Xi chose to go to Guangdong on his first trip after being anointed party chief in November.

On Sunday night, the Southern Weekly official microblog denied the removal of the New Year Letter was due to censorship, saying the "online rumors were false". Those remarks drew criticism from Chinese Internet users.

Many Southern Weekly journalists disavowed themselves from the statement on the microblog, which they say was taken over by management, and pledged to go on strike the next day.

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Chinese protest outside newspaper gates in rare censorship demo

BEIJING Hundreds of supporters of the reform-minded Guangdong newspaper Southern Weekly staged a rare public protest against state censorship outside the papers offices Monday, while prominent business tycoons, opinion makers and film stars used their microblogging accounts to demand greater press freedom in China.

Meanwhile, several of the newspapers editors and reporters said they were going on strike, which would be the first such action by journalists against official press restrictions in more than two decades.

This is actually something pretty amazing, said Hung Huang, a publisher, writer and blogger. Its the first time the media is protesting against censorship. This is the first time they took action and said, Were not going to take this anymore. ... Somehow, this was the straw that broke the camels back.

The highly unusual protests sprung from what is being called the New Years Day incident, in which Southern Weeklys journalists say their front-page New Years message to readers expressing a dream for a constitutional government in China was substantially rewritten and watered down, without the knowledge or consent of the editors, by Guangdong provinces top Communist Party propaganda official, Tuo Zhen.

Tuo has not spoken about his role in rewriting the piece and could not be reached for comment. Several journalists and media executives said that even under Chinas tight, long-standing control of the print media, it would be far out of the ordinary for a propaganda official to so blatantly interfere in the editorial process without telling top editors.

The incident grew more confusing Sunday, when a statement appeared at 9:20 p.m. on the Southern Weeklys Sina Weibo account, the Chinese version of Twitter. The post said the New Years message published Jan. 2 was written by the papers management team, and it denied the online reports that it had been rewritten.

About an hour later, angry Southern Weekly editors and staff members used a separate microblogging account, for the papers economic news sections, to charge that Southern Weeklys official Sina Weibo account had been forcibly confiscated by the government and that the statement posted on it was untrue. Dozens of Southern Weekly editors and staff members later signed an online statement saying the paper had been forced to give up the password to the official account.

The battle over censorship spilled into the public arena Monday, as an estimated 400 people heeded an online call for protest, according to witnesses and online reports . People showed up holding roses and white and yellow chrysanthemums the traditional flower of mourning in China and some wore masks covering their mouths. Others held handwritten signs calling for freedom of speech.

We laid flowers at the gate to Southern Weekly, said Song Bingyi, a protester. There were white roses, white chrysanthemum, red roses and yellow chrysanthemum there. But once we put down the flowers, plainclothes police came to confiscate them all.

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Furor over censorship spreading in China