The removal of two senior editorial staff at a Beijing-based computer magazine yesterday is being linked by some observers to a story it published in July lashing out at the mainland's biggest internet company. China ComputerWorld, a 30-year-old weekly magazine that is part of the China ComputerWorld Media Group, reshuffled its senior editors yesterday morning. It was announced that Bao Ran , president of the magazine, and editor-in-chief Sun Ding were no longer in charge of editorial matters, a statement on the magazine's website said. Bao kept his other positions as assistant group president and editor-in-chief of China Digital Television Magazine. Sun was appointed deputy editor for the group. Senior management denied the removals were connected to a cover story entitled 'Tencent, You Dog F***er' on July 26. But several mainland media outlets claimed to have confirmed it was related. Tencent Holdings had a turnover of 12.4 billion yuan (HK$14.17 billion) last year. Tencent's QQ is the most popular free instant messaging program on the mainland. QQ.com ranked 10th overall in Alexa's worldwide internet rankings. 'It's not connected. It's merely a regular reshuffle in the group, as our new group president was just appointed at the meeting,' a spokesman from the media group president's office said. 'We will soon have a new development strategy for the group.' Bao refused to comment, saying, 'Please understand my situation'. Xu Chuanchao , who took over Sun's job, also denied knowledge of any connection to the story. But two industry analysts said they could not rule it out. The story, written by journalist Xu Lei , accused Shenzhen-based Tencent of jeopardising the country's creativity drive because it was so good at copying successful internet products introduced by smaller competitors. The magazine cover featured QQ's mascot, a penguin, and the expletive-laden headline. 'They don't create, just follow suit,' the story concluded. The cover and story struck a chord with Tencent's competitors but were criticised for being biased, in bad taste and unprofessional. Xie Wen , a prominent internet analyst and a former mainland executive for Yahoo, said the story did reflect the overall attitude towards Tencent in the industry. Tencent said the headline had damaged its brand and reputation as a responsible company and threatened to take legal action. The magazine apologised to Tencent on August 11. Bao entered information technology and the media 11 years ago and became publisher and editor-in-chief of China Digital Television Magazine in 2004. He became president of China ComputerWorld last year. Sun joined China ComputerWorld in 1993 and became its editor-in-chief in 2007.
