China's press censors in spotlight as Caixin Century Weekly suspends legal section
Heavy hand of media minders felt as Caixin Century Weekly suspends its legal affairs section after carrying report on probe of official
The legal affairs section of a leading magazine is missing from its latest issue, sparking discussion about whether the publication came under pressure following a report about an official being allegedly investigated.
Reports about legal affairs in the May 6 issue of Caixin Century Weekly were instead run under other sections.
An insider from the magazine, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the legal section had been suspended due to "some pressure" that required the magazine to focus more on economic reports rather than legal affairs.
He said reporters for the law section were still working as normal, but that law-related reports were being merged into other sections.
The names of six reporters for the missing section were still printed in the latest issue, but two law-related reports - one about issues related to competition in the internet industry, and a small piece about a legal dispute between software company Qihoo 360 and internet giant Tencent - appeared in the economy section. A report about a lawsuit over chromium waste, brought by two environmental protection NGOs against a chemical firm in Yunnan , was put in the environment and technology section.
Liu Jing , a public relations officer for Caixin Media Group, told the South China Morning Post that the section had not been "cut" but that the magazine was simply making "normal adjustments" to the pages.