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Vivian Wu

The employer of a Beijing-based journalist arrested by Hebei  police during an investigation in Shanxi province  has vowed to stand by its employee and criticised police's handling of the case.
Networking News, a weekly published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences,  said that 'until the truth is revealed' it would continue to trust chief reporter Guan Jian   despite claims by police in Zhangjiakou , Hebei, he  had taken bribes.
Guan disappeared late last month during an investigation into a property deal in Taiyuan , Shanxi's capital, and was not heard from for two weeks.
Talking to China National Radio,  Zhao Tianxiao  of the Zhangjiakou Public Security Bureau,  said Guan was suspected of taking bribes and had been in custody since December 1.
Mr Zhao was quoted as saying that 'according to the law, police could detain a person without informing his family if they think notification will interfere with the investigation'.
But the newspaper was critical. Editor-in-chief Shi Pengyu   said: 'I was shocked to know that Guan had been in custody for two weeks on the charge of taking bribes. We believe he is a clean and excellent reporter.'
Mr Shi said he and his lawyer had arrived in Zhangjiakou yesterday but were told they would not be able to reach police officials until today.
Guan's supervisor, Li Shuanglong  , said Guan was 'the best reporter with the greatest passion for journalism at the newspaper, and 80 per cent of his reports are critical stories revealing social problems and corruption'.
'If he broke the law, he would be subject to legal punishment. But how come the police didn't notify us promptly as specified by the law?  We are very concerned about what happened during the two weeks.'
Beijing criminal lawyer Xia Lin   said Mr Zhao's remarks were improper.
'According to the Law of Criminal Procedure, police are obligated to notify a suspect's family or employer of his detention within 48 hours,' Mr Xia said.
'If his family cannot be notified, the employer must be informed.'
Li said Guan was sent to Taiyuan late last month to investigate a property case. The newspaper uncovered surveillance-camera footage at a Taiyuan hotel showing Guan being taken away on December 1 by five men. Li wrote a widely circulated article about Guan's disappearance, setting off public debate about official interference in journalism.
At the time of his disappearance, Guan did not have an official mainland reporter's credential issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication (Gapp).
The Gapp licence is the only official accreditation, and reporters without it are regarded as illegal and have been the targets of repeated crackdowns.
Li said Guan had been with the newspaper for nearly two years, and the newspaper had applied for his journalist's licence, but the request  was suspended because Gapp was upgrading the technology on the licence to prevent piracy.
Li also said the paper  had checked Guan's stories and had not found any article related to Zhangjiakou.
'Gapp regulations that a reporter can get a licence only after working at a newspaper for one year is unreasonable,' he said.
'How can a reporter do his job during the first year?'



Newspaper stands by detained reporter