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Beijing propaganda
authorities take over papers
AFP, BEIJING
Chinaˇ¦s propaganda authorities have placed two of Beijingˇ¦s most popular and
colorful newspapers under new management, state press said, in a move decried by
critics as an effort to censor the news.
Beijingˇ¦s Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-run media authorities have taken over at
the helm of the popular Beijing News and the Beijing Times, the government-run
Qianlong Web site reported late on Saturday.
Both papers routinely run stories critical of local governments around China, as
well as articles that defy edicts issued by the partyˇ¦s propaganda bureau
ordering media to show Chinese society in a positive light.
Both began publishing about a decade ago and gained widespread popularity for
their colorful stories and advertisements.
The move was aimed at bringing the two papers under the control of the city
government and reining in an advertising war between the publications, the
report said. The two papers could be merged into one, it added.
The Beijing News was formerly a joint undertaking by the Guangming Daily Group
and the Southern Daily Group, arguably Chinaˇ¦s most daring newspaper publisher.
The Beijing Times was run by the Peopleˇ¦s Daily Group, whose flagship Peopleˇ¦s
Daily is the official CCP mouthpiece.
Officials and journalists at both papers refused to comment on the takeover when
contacted yesterday.
However, Internet postings on the move were critical.
ˇ§Two Beijing newspapers have been downgraded, their style of daring to speak out
has been seriously hampered,ˇ¨ a user named brkchinese wrote on the microblogging
site Twitter.
Aboluowang, another Twitter user, wrote: ˇ§The Beijing government has taken over
the two capital publications that have dared to speak out ... it looks like the
gagging of public opinion in the capital has been stepped up.ˇ¨
The Chinese government strictly censors the countryˇ¦s newspapers, broadcast
media and the Internet, blocking any information it considers sensitive.
Controls have been further tightened by a heavy clampdown on dissent, with a
number of prominent lawyers and activists detained amid official fears that
recent uprisings in the Arab world could spark similar movements in China.
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