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. <\/p>\n
The protesters were outside the Southern Weekly's office in Guangzhou, with one banner reading: \"We want press freedom, constitutionalism and democracy\". <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Some of the journalists working at the newspaper said they intended to strike over the row in Internet postings on Sunday evening. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
The censorship at the Southern Weekly sparked online uproar from netizens, including the newspaper's staff. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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\nProtesters gather at China newspaper in censorship row<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"