Publisher of China’s leading pro-reform magazine vows to carry on despite growing pressure from authorities
Respected publication of reform-minded party elders says is under renewed pressure to toe the official line and abandon its critical stance
The publisher of Yanhuang Chunqiu, the mainland’s most outspoken political magazine, has vowed to carry on despite concern that recent stepped-up measures by authorities to rein in the respected publication may finally force it to lose its critical stance.
Yanhuang Chunqiu (sometimes translated as China Through The Ages) is known for its outspoken articles that contest official versions of party history, and for years has been under pressure to soften its editorial stance.
It was able to maintain a relatively liberal stance due to the support of many respected party elders, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s.
But the embattled magazine suffered a series of blows in the past year. Fears were raised this month of renewed pressure after it received a warning letter from official censors and its chief editor Yang Jisheng was ordered to leave the magazine.
Last September, authorities ordered it to switch its organisational affiliation to the Chinese National Academy of Arts, a body under the culture ministry – a move that rendered the magazine more vulnerable to censors. Like all state publications, it has to operate under a government-linked organisation responsible for its content.
Late last year, an effort to save its editorial independence suffered again when Hu Deping , the son of the late liberal leader Hu Yaobang who was to succeed 91-year-old publisher Du Daozheng, was unable to take up the job.