- The Canton government official agrees to the resignation of the provincial Propaganda chief
Management and editorial of the Cantonese weekly Nanfang Zhoumo (Southern Weekly) have agreed to end the strike that began two days ago against censorship of their articles, that gathered hundreds of protesters in front of the newspaper's headquarters in Guangzhou (capital of Guangdong province) in defense of freedom of information. According to the agreement, accomplished Tuesday night, The editors and editors involved in the protest will not be punished and the provincial propaganda authorities will not directly interfere in the future with the content before its publication., although other long-existing controls will remain in force, informa Associated Press. In exchange, The journalists return to work and the weekly will be published as usual on Thursdays.
The resolution of the conflict, which has had a great impact on the Internet and Chinese social networks, represents a small victory for the journalists of the Nanfang Zhoumo —one of the most liberal and respected publications in China—, but it is very far from implying the end of censorship and responding to the requests for democracy and more freedoms that the protesters made.
The confrontation broke out late last week when reporters accused censors of vetoing an article calling for a constitutionalist government and replacing it with another praising the achievements of the Chinese Communist Party. (CCP). They blamed the change on the head of provincial Propaganda, Tuo Zhen, and demanded his resignation.
In negotiations to end the conflict, Hu Chunhua participated directly, newly appointed CCP Guangdong secretary and rising star in Chinese politics. Unidentified sources close to the weekly cited by the Reuters agency assure that Huang Can, chief editor of Nanfang Zhoumo, will be terminated. Others claim that during the conversations, Hu suggested that Tuo will also be replaced, but that it could not be done immediately so as not to embarrass him or his department. The editors accuse Tuo of exercising strict control over the publication, Known for its in-depth investigative journalism and its liberal editorial line by what is usual in China.
In addition to getting the newspaper back on track, The agreement extinguishes the flame of requests for greater freedoms that had also begun to spread on the Internet and defuses a potential challenge to Xi Jinping, who was promoted to the general secretary of the party two months ago and next March will be named president of the country.
