Chinese newspaper removes editorial calling for greater media freedom
A Chinese newspaper editorial complaining of government interference in the media and "increasing restrictions" on Chinese journalists has apparently been removed from the paper's website.To get more chinese newspaper, you can visit shine news official website.
The English-language commentary was published on Monday in the Global Times, a nationalist newspaper controlled by China's Communist Party.
"I feel deeply that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do media work," said the editorial by Hu Xijin, the Global Times' editor-in-chief.
Hu is better known for his scathing attacks on the United States, especially as US-China relations have deteriorated. But in his article on Monday, he criticised Beijing instead.
"Frankly, media professionals have been facing increasing restrictions for some time," Hu said. The interference, he warned, could "affect the media's function as a news agency" and lead to a loss of "credibility and combat effectiveness".
"As a battlefront, they should be trusted and have the independent space to carry out innovations that meet the needs of the times," he added.
By Thursday, the editorial could no longer be found on the Global Times' English-language website. It was replaced by a 404 "page not found" error message. The Global Times Twitter account deleted an earlier tweet linking to the story. The editorial could also not be found on the paper's Chinese website.
Hu did not immediately respond to VOA's questions about why the article was inaccessible.
Hu has a complicated history. Although widely seen as a Communist Party attack dog, Hu claims to have been a student protester during China's 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. He later turned his back on the movement, suggesting it was naive. He now defends China's Tiananmen Square crackdown, in which hundreds or even thousands of protesters were killed.
More recently, Hu has attracted attention in the Western media for his sharp-tongued verbal attacks on the United States and his almost incessant defence of Chinese policies. Hu delivers most of his sharpest attacks on Twitter, which is blocked in mainland China along with every other major Western social media site. At times he has been criticised for flippantly talking about the possibility of war between the United States and China.
In his carefully worded article this week, Hu stopped short of calling for the Chinese media to be fully independent. The goal, he said, is not for Chinese media to become like the New York Times or the BBC, but to become "media with Chinese characteristics" that can "self-explore ways to support the country's policies".
Hu did not say what kind of government interference he objected to, but at various points he seemed to criticise interference by "government departments and local governments".
China is in the midst of a wide-ranging campaign apparently aimed at reinforcing ideological purity in almost every facet of Chinese society. Part of this campaign has targeted the media, although such restrictions are far from new.
A Chinese newspaper editorial complaining of government interference in the media and "increasing restrictions" on Chinese journalists has apparently been removed from the paper's website.To get more chinese newspaper, you can visit shine news official website.
The English-language commentary was published on Monday in the Global Times, a nationalist newspaper controlled by China's Communist Party.
"I feel deeply that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do media work," said the editorial by Hu Xijin, the Global Times' editor-in-chief.
Hu is better known for his scathing attacks on the United States, especially as US-China relations have deteriorated. But in his article on Monday, he criticised Beijing instead.
"Frankly, media professionals have been facing increasing restrictions for some time," Hu said. The interference, he warned, could "affect the media's function as a news agency" and lead to a loss of "credibility and combat effectiveness".
"As a battlefront, they should be trusted and have the independent space to carry out innovations that meet the needs of the times," he added.
By Thursday, the editorial could no longer be found on the Global Times' English-language website. It was replaced by a 404 "page not found" error message. The Global Times Twitter account deleted an earlier tweet linking to the story. The editorial could also not be found on the paper's Chinese website.
Hu did not immediately respond to VOA's questions about why the article was inaccessible.
Hu has a complicated history. Although widely seen as a Communist Party attack dog, Hu claims to have been a student protester during China's 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. He later turned his back on the movement, suggesting it was naive. He now defends China's Tiananmen Square crackdown, in which hundreds or even thousands of protesters were killed.
More recently, Hu has attracted attention in the Western media for his sharp-tongued verbal attacks on the United States and his almost incessant defence of Chinese policies. Hu delivers most of his sharpest attacks on Twitter, which is blocked in mainland China along with every other major Western social media site. At times he has been criticised for flippantly talking about the possibility of war between the United States and China.
In his carefully worded article this week, Hu stopped short of calling for the Chinese media to be fully independent. The goal, he said, is not for Chinese media to become like the New York Times or the BBC, but to become "media with Chinese characteristics" that can "self-explore ways to support the country's policies".
Hu did not say what kind of government interference he objected to, but at various points he seemed to criticise interference by "government departments and local governments".
China is in the midst of a wide-ranging campaign apparently aimed at reinforcing ideological purity in almost every facet of Chinese society. Part of this campaign has targeted the media, although such restrictions are far from new.