Cross posted at The Smoking Room
Good for them. There’s no given figure for how many editors refused to work Thursday after three top editors’ firing for criticizing the government – all Chinese media is state-controlled – but it’s a relief to know that conscience occasionally overwhelms conformity in such a society. Background:
The Beijing News broke the news of a bloody crackdown in June against protesting farmers in the northern city of Dingzhou that left six dead. The farmers were challenging the seizure of land to build a nearby power plant.
That coverage, along with tough stories on corruption and health issues, has made the Beijing News and a handful of other hard-hitting publications popular with readers and advertisers, and shaken up China’s normally conservative media in recent years. But it also has pushed the limits of the Communist Party’s tolerance, prompting the government of President Hu Jintao to tighten control and issue sanctions on several publications.
Getting the staff to talk about the protest is tough, though:
An editor of a section covering national and social affairs said, “Most of the editors caught a cold yesterday. Today, surprisingly, most of them recovered, though a few of them are still sick.”
China’s active community of bloggers was quick to report and denounce Mr. Yang’s removal. One Beijing News editor wrote on his Web log, “There is no way to retreat. The butcher has lifted a knife…so let’s just die in a beautiful way.” That posting later was taken down by its host, Sina.com, but other bloggers reposted the comments by displaying an image of the original posting.
The newspaper’s executives weren’t available to comment. Newsroom staff said the situation was sensitive and they couldn’t talk about the issue.
“Sensitive”…that seems to be the phrase of choice for Chinese researchers and reporters when talking about censorship issues. A few months ago I covered a Chinese researcher’s press conference for release of his report on a certain element of Chinese society, and when attendees brought up censorship in Q&A, he repeatedly called it a “sensitive” issue that he couldn’t discuss. He kept emphasizing how Chinese society is opening up and things are much better now than they used to be. Seems to be the standard talking point for Chinese with connections to the government (guess who funds his work). It’s long past time for a hacker arms race against China’s Web-based censorship.
I’m a tech journalist who’s making a TV show about a college newspaper.