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Battling the censors
Three articles look at relations between individuals and the state. First, calls for press freedom; next, reforms in the detention system; finally, a traffic-light revolt
Jan12th 2013 | GUANGZHOU |From the print edition
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AT THE end of December, China’s newly appointed Communist Party chief, Xi Jinping, told his colleagues to “respond positively” to the public’s“strong cries and eager expectations” for reform. He had no idea just how strong those cries were about to become. By a busy road in the southern city of Guangzhou, protesters this week called forfreedom of the press and freedom of speech. Rarely since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 have such demands been aired so openly. Mr Xi has faced a tough challenge.
The protests in the heart of thecapital of Guangdong province began on January 7th, after allegations appeared on the internet that Guangdong’s party censors had watered down a new-year message that was due to appear in SouthernWeekend, a popular and outspoken newspaper that is based in Guangzhou but has a nationwide readership. As drafted, the message called on the party to uphold the freedoms guaranteed by China’s constitution.Implementing this, it said, was the only way of enabling citizens to “speak out loudly in criticism of government power”. The revised version dropped all mention of political demands.
In thissection
* Battling the censors
* Long overdue
* Slamming on the brakes
Reprints
Related topics
* Beijing
* Guangdong
* Guangzhou
* China
* Censorship
This change triggered arare revolt by staff at a Chinese newspaper (Southern Weekend is controlled by the Nanfang Media Group, which answers to Guangdong’s party leadership). Petitions signed by dozens of staff and formerjournalists at the newspaper, which were widely circulated online, called on Guangdong’s chief of propaganda, Tuo Zhen, to step down. Some staff said they were going on strike. Nanfang Media’s...