Outspoken commentator Li Chengpeng silenced on Chinese social media

Chinese top internet portals have suspended the social media and blog accounts of Li Chengpeng, silencing one of China’s most outspoken political commentators online.

But as of Tuesday, Li’s microblogs and blogs on Sina and Tencent, which had more than seven million followers, were not accessible – sparking  a deluge of posts, some of which were later deleted, debating why it happened. "Even if I don't approve of Li's remarks, I am against suspending his accounts," wrote Tao Jingzhou, a laywer in Beijing. 

Contrary to speculation online, a person familiar with Li's situation said his suspension was not triggered by a speech he gave at Peking University, The university did not announce such a speech on its website or microblog.

The shutdown had been triggered by other reasons, which the source declined to elaborate on. The person insisted that Li did not delete the online accounts himself.

Li could not be reached for comment on the phone or through text messages. Li is tailed by state security minders, who at times in the past have instructed him not to comment publicly, he told the South China Morning Post last year.