Beijing reporters protest press controls

Reporters a Beijing newspaper known for covering sensitive topics walked off the job after its editor was removed this week amid efforts to tighten press controls, employees said yesterday.

The informal strike at the Beijing News was highly unusual for China's entirely state-controlled media. It reflected tensions between Communist leaders and media outlets, which have pushed the limits of official tolerance in recent years, sometimes drawing punishment for aggressive reporting on corruption and other politically charged issues.

Reporters filing articles on Thursday after the removal of editor Yang Bin (楊斌), said employees contacted by phone. Yesterday, the tabloid was 32 pages, compared with more than 80 on a normal day.

"Most of the 400 reporters and editors are unhappy about Yang Bin leaving," said a reporter who asked not to be identified. "We don't know how many high-level officials might leave their post."

It wasn't clear how many reporters took part in the protest or how long it might last.

Employees said they didn't know why Yang was removed.

The Beijing News is audacious even by the standards of a new wave of Chinese newspapers that compete for readers with stories on scandals and other previously forbidden topics.

In June, it broke the story of an attack by armed men that killed six villagers who were protesting the seizure of land for use in building a power plant near the northern city of Dingzhou. The government arrested more than 100 people and investigated two local Communist Party officials after the report was picked up by other Chinese outlets and foreign media.

"I think the paper's outspoken style brought it this trouble," said Pu Zhiqiang, a lawyer who has met Yang.

A spokesman for the Beijing News denied there was any protest.

"Everything here is normal," said the spokesman, who would give only his surname, Luo.

Chinese have been given limited autonomy in an effort to reduce their need for subsidies by letting them compete commercially. Editors are expected to work within censorship guidelines on specific stories, but are free to make their own decisions on other matters.

But the government has recently tightened controls, forcing the removal of respected editors who angered officials by reporting on graft and other issues.

Yang, the Beijing News editor, was reassigned by the Guangming Daily Group, a party-run publisher that is part owner of his newspaper, according to Hong Kong media.

Its is the Southern Daily Group in the southern business center of Guangzhou. That company publishes Southern Metropolis News and Southern Weekend, two of China's most aggressive sources of reporting on corruption and scandals. A former editor-in-chief and a former general manager of the Southern Metropolis News were jailed last year on what colleagues say were phony corruption charges. Another former editor was detained for five months but released without charge.

Several at Southern Weekend have been removed after reports that angered officials.

"Yang Bin inherited the outspoken style from the Southern Metropolis News, which annoyed some central officials in Beijing," Pu said.

Pu the Beijing News' opinion section was told to suspend publication.

"This section is the most important part of the paper," he said.