By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, December 14: The top editor of a popular Chinese newspaper has been demoted after publishing an exclusive interview with President Obama during his China visit last month, according to media reports.
Xiang Xi, the top editor of the Southern Weekend newspaper who interviewed Obama during his visit to China in mid-November, has been named as “executive” editor-in-chief and placed under a new top editor this week, sources told Reuters, describing the move as fallout from Communist Party censor’s anger over its handling of the story.
Southern Weekend has reportedly confirmed Xiang Xi had been named as “executive” editor-in-chief, but claimed that it was only a change of title.
Three employees of the paper told Reuters he had been demoted after pressure from the ruling Communist Party’s powerful propaganda department. All staff requested anonymity, saying they feared punishment for speaking about the move, which has also been discussed on Chinese-language Internet sites.
“The propaganda department was certainly unhappy about the interview,” Reuters quoted Michael Anti, a Chinese blogger and media commentator based in Beijing who follows censorship, as saying.
“Xiang Xi was de facto top editor at the Southern Weekend and in effective he has been shifted from number one to number two….This could be a way to stave off more pressure from above.”
Anti and one source at the paper said Xiang’s formal title may not have changed, but the appointment of a new superior transferred from a paper, the Southern Daily, more trusted by the Party was a slap for Southern Weekend.
The paper (nanfang zhoumo), based in the city of Guangzhou, is a weekly paper and is one of China’s most popular and combative newspapers that occasionally gets into trouble for its investigative reports on social problems and the dodgy doings of corrupt officials.
Like all Chinese media, The Southern Weekend (www.infzm.com) comes under state control and censorship.
It is understood the White House initiated the interview during Obama’s China visit and the US President chose to hold his keynote interview Southern Weekend.
Usually, visiting leaders speak to tightly controlled official newspapers or the state broadcaster CCTV.
Media reports said the Chinese foreign ministry directly approved the meeting, angering propaganda officials.
Reporters at the Southern Weekend believe Xiang was moved to placate the powerful Party propaganda department, incensed that the interview with Obama was initiated without its approval.
An editor from another publication told Reuters that when propaganda department officials learned about the planned interview they criticized the paper, took a heavy hand in restricting questions and slashed the transcript approved for publication hours before it went to press. The editor also said censors also told the Southern Weekend not to print a picture of a note that Obama wrote for the paper, speaking of the importance of a free press.
Following the publication of the interview, the Chinese Central Propaganda Department News Office issued an order saying: “All media including newspapers, other publications and websites are not permitted to reproduce Southern Weekend’s interview with U.S. President Obama.”
During his visit to China, Obama prodded the host government on censorship and human rights. But Beijing showed no signs of giving ground, and did not allow questions from reporters during the joint press appearance by Obama and President Hu Jintao.
President Obama’s first attempt to speak directly to Chinese people during his trip was also marred by Beijing’s failure to broadcast the remarks nationwide as promised.
