Wen Jiabao's family 'unlikely to sue' New York Times
Threat of legal action for defamation over report of 'hidden wealth' is only a gesture, experts say
Legal action threatened against The New York Times by two mainland law firms representing the family of Premier Wen Jiabao is unlikely to occur in the near future as the potential consequences would be detrimental to the premier, experts say.
Wang Weidong, managing partner of the Beijing office of the Grandall Law Firm and one of the two lawyers, told the South China Morning Post yesterday that he and Bai Tao, a partner in the Beijing office of the Jun He Law Firm, had "issued the statement on [the Wen family's] behalf".
He Weifang, a law expert at Peking University, said the statement was more of a gesture than a substantial legal document. "It was a demonstration of the attitude of a single party [the Wen family], intended to show the Chinese public that [The New York Times] report wasn't factually correct," He said.
If the Wen family does take the Times to court, it could be a formidable undertaking.
"Then the case would get bigger … and even out of control," He said. "Based on this rationale, I reckon it's not likely [the Wen family] would sue The Times."
Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in an e-mail to the Post: "We are standing by our story, which we are incredibly proud of and which is an example of the quality investigative journalism The Times is known for."