President and vice-president of Chinese Communist Party's news website 'taken away by investigators'
Chief editor was under pressure for stance on environmental documentary Under the Dome, sources say
The president and a vice-president of People.cn – the website of People’s Daily – have been taken away by Henan prosecutors for alleged bribery, state media reported on Friday.
Several mainland media outlets reported the news last night but their stories were quickly removed.
The president Liao Hong, 52, helped to launch the website in 1997, according to his public profile. He joined the newspaper after graduating from Beijing University of Technology 30.years ago.
He was detained along with website vice-president Chen Zhixia, 44, Xinhua and CCTV reported, without specifying when this happened or why Henan prosecutors were tasked with the job. It’s possible the top prosecutor’s office had concerns over a potential conflict of interest for local prosecutors.
People.cn’s corporate vehicle suspended trading on the Shanghai stock exchange yesterday afternoon, citing a need to “clarify media reports”, according to a company announcement. Shares had risen 2.28 per cent before the suspension.
A media source close to the website, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the investigation into Liao and Chen was related to the detention of a deputy editor at the website, Xu Hui, in May.
Xu had allegedly threatened to run negative stories about companies unless they agreed to advertising deals.