April 2004 — Zhu is one of China’s most famous political and cultural critics. Currently a professor at Shanghai University, Zhu’s areas of expertise include historical changes in China’s political and administrative structure and international constitutional law. Zhu, who is also one of China’s most visible media commentators, coordinates the Shanghai Database Project within Shanghai University’s Peace & Development Studies Centre.
Translated by Donald Clarke
At 1:30 p.m. on March 19, 2004, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court handed down its appellate ruling in the administrative case of Li Jian versus the Beijing Municipal Communications Regulation Bureau (CRB). It rejected his appeal “according to the law” and upheld the administrative ruling of the Xuanwu court. This “legally effective” ruling is no different from declaring that in the face of certain government actions that abuse power, citizens don’t even have the right to sue!
[Click HERE for PDF of Donald Clarke’s full translation]
In this 2004 essay, Lu Ye explores what has become a recurring question in the age of commercialized media in China: who should watch the media? The question is given urgency by such phenomena as fake news, paid-for news and news extortion, but also complicated by China’s ongoing legacy of censorship. Lu Ye seeks the answer to her question in Western notions of journalistic professionalism:
“The press councils of the West are specific manifestations of Western principles of journalistic professionalism. The professional principles that serve as credos for the Western news profession are the ideological basic for self-discipline by Western media. They are a mode of social control based on professional knowledge, with the goal of serving the whole of society, and exercising self-discipline via a professional peer community. ” [LINK HERE]
March 2004 — Wang, a senior reporter for the China Economic Times, is known for a number of important investigative stories, including his reporting of securities fraud in Guizhou Province and corrupt regulations in Beijing’s taxi industry. In 2002, Wang was awarded the “Outstanding Member of the Chinese Media” award by Southern Weekend. In 2003, he was listed on the “Billboard of Outstanding Chinese Journalists.” Wang has also published an economic study in co-operation with the Development Research Centre of China’s State Council.
Click HERE for Wang Keqin’s BLOG
March 2004/November 2007 — Lu is the former deputy director of the “News Center” section of the China Youth Daily and a former top editor of China Youth Daily‘s weekly supplement Freezing Point. In January 2006, Lu Yuegang was removed from his post at Freezing Point, along with chief editor Li Datong, for publishing an essay by historian Yuan Weishi that took issue with nationalism in Chinese school textbooks. Lu Yuegang is also author of several influential works of literary journalism documenting the struggles of China’s working class. Lu’s writing highlights the immense social challenges that have come hand in hand with China’s emergence as a global economic powerhouse. Lu is a member of the China Literary Journalism Council and the China Writers Organization.
February 2004 — Zhang is the executive producer of “News Probe,” a CCTV investigative news programme. Winner of numerous national and provincial awards for outstanding television, Zhang has pioneered the production of probing news interviews and bold documentaries at CCTV since 1993. Zhang, a graduate of Beijing’s Central University of Nationalies, has also spearheaded investigative interviews for CCTV’s “Oriental Horizons” program.
Yang, who has a background in court investigation, is currently an investigative reporter for Caijing magazine, one of China’s leading business publications. Yang Haipeng formerly worked as a reporter for Oriental Outlook, a magazine published by China’s official Xinhua News Agency, and for both Southern Daily News Group and Nanjing News Group.
Zhai Minglei is an award-winning journalist and former reporter for Southern Weekend, a mainland newsweekly regarded internationally for its tough reporting of corruption and social issues. After leaving Southern Weekend, Zhai launched Minjian, a non-profit magazine for China’s NGO community. The magazine was shut down by authorities in 2007. Zhai now publishes his own online “newspaper,” 1bao.org. In 2001, Zhai’s expose of corruption within Project Hope, one of China’s best-known non-profit programs, was selected as one of the year’s top news reports by Southern Weekend.
The moment the light went off in the small room in Fenghuo village, Wu Fang knew something terrible was going to happen to her. Three women from the village rushed in, knocked Wu Fang to the floor and began stripping her. Then her husband threw sulfuric acid on her face, chest and thighs. She let out a long cry. The women held her down, spreading acid over her face and breasts, disfiguring her horribly for the rest of her life. Twelve years later, she still seeks words for the pain: “It was like being thrown into the sky and hurled around.”
[Click HERE to read the story at TIME.com]
Liu Chang explores a 1999 news story that caused a stir across
