Website of outspoken Beijing journal closed without explanation
Staff Reporter
2013-01-05
17:47 (GMT+8)
Issues of Yanhuang Chunqiu. (Internet photo)
Issues of Yanhuang Chunqiu. (Internet photo)
Yanhuang Chunqiu, a Beijing-based pro-reform journal, has said that its internet registration was canceled by the authorities this week and its website was disabled on Friday, heightening concerns that the new party leadership under Xi Jinping is tightening control of freedom of speech online.
The journal posted a message on Weibo, China's leading equivalent of Twitter, late on Friday, saying its official website was suddenly found to be closed on Friday morning after it received a system notice from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The notice stated its website registration had been withdrawn, but did not give a reason.
The journal said it was investigating the cause, and the Weibo post has been forwarded more than 20,000 times as of Saturday.
Wu Si, chief editor of the 21-year-old journal, said the case was very serious, suggesting the website may never return. "We have no idea what the reason was and it is hard to say if it is related to the overall [political] environment," Wu was quoted by Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao as saying.
The latest edition of the journal called for political reforms based on the PRC Constitution, making reference to a number of sensitive issues such as freedom of speech and publication, as well as human rights.
Another article in the latest edition was written by Zhou Ruijin, deputy chief editor of the journal, analyzing the Communist Party's 18th National Congress from a historical perspective. The piece likewise made reference to a number of sensitive issues including the interference in the leadership transition by the older generation of retired politicians, infighting between the party's factions, as well as the prospects for political reform.
The authorities said later that the website may reopen as long as it replaces its service provider, a process which only takes 10 working days. Wu said however that the journal replaced the provider in 2008.
The journal has reported on a number of sensitive issues in the past. It recently drew attention domestically and overseas by hosting a reform forum soon after the end of the 18th National Congress last November, attended by more than 80 liberal figures who signed an announcement calling for reforms.
The closure of the website has aroused concerns as to whether the new leadership under the party's new leader, Xi Jinping, may crack down on the public expression of opinion on the internet. Ahead of the incident, a special New Year's issue of the liberal Guangzhou-based weekly Southern Weekend was forcibly deleted and re-edited by provincial officials.
Zhang Lifen, a political commentator in Beijing, said the two liberal media outlets have been squeezed at the same time, suggesting a political fight among senior officials and may not be permanent. "It will take three to six months to see the general character of the new leadership," Zhang told Ming Pao.
Zhang Ming, a professor of politics at Renmin University of China in Beijing, told Ming Pao that it is customary for Beijing to tighten control over media outlets to ensure stability before the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in March. The action taken over Yanhuang Chunqiu, however, has made the public pessimistic, suggesting the party is not changing its approach to the media. "This kind of reform cannot succeed," Zhang told the Hong Kong paper.