Radical magazine a no-show in capital
Fearless Caijing broke a taboo by reporting property tycoon's woes, prompting the seizure of all copies
The outspoken biweekly Caijing magazine has been taken off the newsstands in Beijing, apparently for going too far with its cover story about detained Shanghai property magnate Chau Ching-ngai.
The magazine had been sharply critical of the central government during the Sars crisis, highlighting the terrible neglect of the rural health system and the disarray in the reporting and handling of Sars data.
However, reporting on the sensitive financial scandal involving Mr Chau, which has political ramifications, is taboo, media sources said.
Reuters reported yesterday that officials had ordered the June 20 edition of the biweekly glossy to be held indefinitely at the printers in Beijing, quoting an official at Caijing's sole distributor in the capital, Beijing Tianwen.
'Not a single copy was distributed within Beijing because it has some problems,' he told Reuters. 'People higher up have ordered a suspension of distribution because of what is sensitive in the issue,' he said. The ban might be lifted, he added, but he would not speculate when that would be.
An editor with a party newspaper said the Central Propaganda Department had specifically forbidden reporting on the Chau case. Chau was arrested in connection with a property loan he received from Bank of China (Hong Kong).
Hu Shuli, the feisty managing editor of Caijing, played down the recall, but admitted that the content of the June 20 edition could be sensitive. She did not elaborate.
It is not the first time Caijing, known for its investigative reporting, has had a close brush with the authorities. Since its launch in 1998, the magazine has attracted admiration as well as resentment.
It has made stunning exposes about abuse of managed funds, stock-market manipulation and several politically charged corruption scandals. It has been embroiled in lawsuits from the companies it has reported on. But it has always managed to walk away with acclaim.
Media sources said the climate had turned ugly after the Sars glasnost was seen to have gone too far.
'People are getting giddy about openness and reform. They ignore the strong reactionary forces that are poised to roll things back,' an academic said.
The temporary ban imposed on the 21st Century World Herald in March for publishing an interview with reformer Li Rui has not been lifted, the academic said.
Another newspaper, Xin Bao, was shut down after running a sarcastic list of the Seven Horrors of China, which depicted the National People's Congress as a 'rubber stamp'. The story was originally posted on an overseas dissident website. The editor published it without investigating its provenance.
Its demise, while another case of censorship, was not in the same league as curbs on the critical reformist press.
