The founding editor of one of China's most respected publications has resigned — the latest twist in a battle for control of a magazine known for daring reporting despite the state's grip on the media.
The departure of Hu Shuli (胡舒立) from Caijing (財經) magazine comes a month after general manager Daphne Wu Chuanhui (吳傳暉) and 60 to 70 staff stepped down, and amid intense speculation that Hu was battling management efforts to silence her team.
“Hu Shuli has submitted her resignation letter,” the magazine's spokeswoman Heidi Zhang (張立暉) said, adding that while the resignation was effective immediately, the transition period could last as long as one month.
“The SEEC [Stock Exchange Executive Council] has accepted it and would like to express its gratitude for Shuli's contribution,” Zhang said.
Zhang said yesterday that Hu, in her mid-50s, had told her she had accepted a position as head of the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-sen University, based in Guangzhou.
The SEEC, which owns and publishes Caijing, is a state-supported consortium of non-bank financial institutions.
Widespread reports have said the SEEC was trying to wrest power away from Hu, who is widely credited with making Caijing perhaps China's most influential publication since its launch.
In a country where the media is tightly controlled by the ruling Communist Party, Caijing has pushed the limits, crossing the relatively safe lines of business journalism to publish exposes on corruption and health scares.
One Caijing staff member said last month it was common knowledge at the magazine that Hu had been fighting off SEEC pressure to soften its reporting, especially after deadly ethnic unrest in Xinjiang in July.
The staffer said the SEEC wanted Hu’s editorial team “to focus more on finance and the economy, and leave politics more on the side. That is not what [Hu] wants.”
Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, agreed that Caijing’s reporting on the violence in Xinjiang was a turning point.
“One of the red lines that Caijing crossed was coverage of the Xinjiang riots — they had reporters sent back,” Bequelin said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft