As China proves yet again, you can take the socialism out of a Communist regime, but you can’t take out the totalitarianism:
About 100 journalists from one of China’s most progressive newspapers, the Beijing News, have walked out to protest against their editor’s sacking.
The highly unusual move follows the ousting of editor-in-chief Yang Bin and two senior editors, as Communist Party officials moved to rein in the paper….
Papers like the Beijing News have been publishing stories to attract readers and advertising revenues, leading to disputes with Communist Party censors, who have traditionally maintained an iron grip over all media.
After a recent easing of government control, several high-profile incidents this year suggest the Party is reversing that trend. […]
The Beijing News has a reputation for forthright reporting and commentary.
In June, it exposed a bloody crackdown ordered by officials against protesting farmers in Dingzhou, in the northern province of Hebei, where six farmers were killed.
Following the reports, a local Communist Party official and 26 others were put on trial for organising the violence. […]
Paris-based organisation Reporters Without Borders has frequently criticised restrictions on the media in China, and says Chinese journalists are routinely forbidden from mentioning many sensitive subjects.
In its 2005 world press freedom index, China came 159th out of the 167 countries listed.
Leave a Reply