Beijing News’ publisher Dai Zigeng, who has resigned after he was forced by propaganda officials to print a pro-censorship editorial in today’s edition of the paper.
The Beijing News (新京报), a newspaper owned by the Nanfang Media Group (which also publishes the Southern Weekly) was one of the few Chinese papers brave enough to refuse a Central Propaganda Office order to republish the Global Times’ pro-censorship editorial “Southern Weekly’s ‘Message to Readers’ Is Food for Thought Indeed.”
Reporters at Beijing News are informed of Dai’s resignation and that the paper will print the Global Times’ editorial (image via John Kennedy).
Now, reporters at the Beijing News have revealed that Dai Zigeng (戴自更), the Communist Party official who served as the paper’s publisher, resigned late last night after propaganda authorities forced the paper to run the Global Times’ editorial in today’s edition. Other papers that also resisted the instruction to run the editorial report being pressured to do so today.
Popular Chinese Twitter user @GoneWater, who claims to have been at the offices of the Beijing News as the crisis unfolded (it is unclear whether @GoneWater is in fact an employee of the Nanfang Media Group), said that the hardline approach is a result of the direct intervention by Liu Qibao, the newly appointed Propaganda Chief. Liu allegedly insisted that the Beijing News be forced to follow the Party line despite the initial inclination of local officials to ignore the paper’s insubordination.
This latest aggressive move by propaganda officials will likely create another ‘incident’ in addition to that unfolding at the Southern Weekly. Already numerous posts on Weibo from journalists at the Beijing News and anti-censorship campaigners are being ‘harmonised’. Luckily, mainland reporters and those working in the media form a large segment of the minority of Chinese that jump the Great Firewall to use Twitter, providing a means for the story to get out in spite of the censors.
(h/t: John Kennedy)
今晚的新京 twitter.com/cloudsforest/s…
— 云林 (@cloudsforest) January 8, 2013
Standoff at Beijing News (新京报): Party forcing it 2 publish GT’s’ article about SW, threatening shutdown “@beidaijin: 逼新京发环球屎文，以关闭报馆拒绝，僵持中。”
— Yaxue Cao (@YaxueCao) January 8, 2013
Beijing News reporters’ weibo accounts, paper shut down after it refused to reprint Global Times editorial on Southern Weekend via @mranti
— Liz (@withoutdoing) January 8, 2013
Another incident is born tonight: Beijing News 新京报 Incident.
— Yaxue Cao (@YaxueCao) January 8, 2013
