The New York Times

Tuesday, January 25, 2000

Editor of Chinese Newspaper Removed

By The Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) -- The chief editor of a Chinese newspaper that has tested government-imposed limits on the media was removed from her post amid criticism of the paper's coverage, staff members said Tuesday.

Jiang Yiping, who edited the Southern Weekend (Nanfang Zhoumou) for more than four years, was transferred to another position within the newspaper group around Jan. 10, said an editor at the paper and other officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

Jiang's transfer comes amid signs that the government is seeking to tighten controls on the media. Earlier this month, the government's Press and Publications Administration said it punished 27 newspapers for violating press regulations, for printing fabricated or sensationalist stories and articles with ``political errors,'' and for running unauthorized supplements.

The agency said some of the newspapers were closed, but it provided no other information on the publications, their alleged mistakes or other punishments.

The Southern Weekend, a weekly based in the booming southern province of Guangdong and sold in many parts of the country, has tested government censors but won over readers with often lengthy and detailed articles exposing official malfeasance and corruption, social inequality caused by economic reforms and other sensitive topics.

One recent edition explained to Internet users how to tap into mirror Web sites abroad, which could help them skirt government blocks on Internet sites that officials don't like.

The editor said Jiang's removal was related to criticism of the paper's coverage.

An official in the publishing industry said Jiang was removed under orders from Guangdong provincial leaders who were unhappy with her work. Another official said Jiang had been protected in the past by Xie Fei, the former Communist Party boss of Guangdong who died in October.

One official close to the paper said Jiang's removal was triggered by an article published in November about Hong Kong action movie star Jackie Chan.

Jiang, who is in her 40s, will still work in the editorial department during a handover period to her successor, a former deputy editor from another branch of the newspaper group, the editor said. Another official said her replacement was a vice editor of the Southern Daily, surnamed Huang.

By official count, China has 2,160 newspapers with a yearly circulation of 26 billion. While all media are ultimately controlled by the government or the ruling Communist Party, many smaller newspapers have cut into the circulation of more authoritative and staid publications by foregoing official pronouncements and publishing stories on lurid crimes and entertainment instead.