by Yueran Zhang on October 11, 2012

 

Many have foreseen that China’s burgeoning “Spot the Watch” online anti-corruption movement—in which netizens scour for photographic evidence of public servants wearing suspiciously expensive timepieces—would eventually incur governmental retribution. But few had anticipated what will surely become one of the biggest scandals in China’s news industry in recent years. On October 9, Wang Keqin (@王克勤), a journalist at the Economic Observer (@经济观察报), first circulated this shocking news on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter: 

 

“Transportation chief Li Dejin of Fujian Province wears a Rado diamond watch worth 50,000 RMB (about US$8,000) and a waist belt worth 15,000 RMB (about US$2,400). The Metropolis Times in Yunnan Province (@都市时报) had planned to run a piece titled ‘Fujian’s Watch Uncle is Coming’ on page A30 [on October 9]. Hundreds of thousands of copies had been printed, but were destroyed in the early morning due to pressure from Fujian Province [which is over 1,000 miles away]. Aggressive censorship of social media posts began as well.”[1]

 

According to Hong Kong University’s Weiboscope tool, this post was retweeted over 107,000 times and received over 32,000 comments before being deleted by censors. A picture of the aborted article is below.

 

 

This article never made it to press, but went viral on Weibo instead.

 

As the news went viral on social media, more details emerged. Around 11 p.m. on October 8, Zhou Zhichen (@周智琛), Editor-in-Chief of the Metropolis Times, tweeted that the newspaper would feature an article on the Fujian transportation chief’s attire the next day. By that time, all articles in the next day’s paper had already been signed off and sent to the printer. According to informants who had read the piece, it only described Li’s expensive taste in accessories but did not accuse him of corruption. 

 

Around 3 o’clock on the morning of October 9, when all copies of the issue were off the press, the newspaper’s editors received seven calls from the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, the Yunnan Propaganda Department and other government authorities requesting withdrawal of the piece on behalf of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee. Editors of the Metropolis Times had to replace the piece with advertisements and reprint all copies. By 6 o’clock a.m., new copies were printed and sent to distributors on time. 

 

While the Metropolis Times has not uttered any response on its official Weibo account, the chief editor, angry and frustrated, related what happened over night: “As a journalist from Fujian, I have never felt so angry and ashamed. I hate and despise the black hands that reached over thousands of miles. When I saw blood and tears on the hundreds of thousands of [destroyed] copies, I tried to comfort myself: Only survivors can contribute to the future. I hold to my belief that those people will answer for what they did eventually.”[2]

 

Although censorship and government oversight is common in China’s news industry, it is rare to receive public confirmation of the destruction of already-printed material. Moreover, a provincial government’s reaching out to control the publication of another province’s newspaper a thousand miles away goes beyond the ordinary scope of censorship, even in China’s tightly-controlled environment. Deng Fei (@邓飞), a journalist at the Phoenix Weekly (@凤凰周刊), tweeted, “The nation is shocked. The news industry mourns. Chinese media has been castrated for many years, but what happened today is especially shameful. How can we face the public? Do we still have the courage to supervise the government?”

 

 

 

by Yueran Zhang on October 11, 2012

 

Many have foreseen that China’s burgeoning “Spot the Watch” online anti-corruption movement—in which netizens scour for photographic evidence of public servants wearing suspiciously expensive timepieces—would eventually incur governmental retribution. But few had anticipated what will surely become one of the biggest scandals in China’s news industry in recent years. On October 9, Wang Keqin (@王克勤), a journalist at the Economic Observer (@经济观察报), first circulated this shocking news on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter: 

 

“Transportation chief Li Dejin of Fujian Province wears a Rado diamond watch worth 50,000 RMB (about US$8,000) and a waist belt worth 15,000 RMB (about US$2,400). The Metropolis Times in Yunnan Province (@都市时报) had planned to run a piece titled ‘Fujian’s Watch Uncle is Coming’ on page A30 [on October 9]. Hundreds of thousands of copies had been printed, but were destroyed in the early morning due to pressure from Fujian Province [which is over 1,000 miles away]. Aggressive censorship of social media posts began as well.”[1]

 

According to Hong Kong University’s Weiboscope tool, this post was retweeted over 107,000 times and received over 32,000 comments before being deleted by censors. A picture of the aborted article is below.

 

 

This article never made it to press, but went viral on Weibo instead.

 

As the news went viral on social media, more details emerged. Around 11 p.m. on October 8, Zhou Zhichen (@周智琛), Editor-in-Chief of the Metropolis Times, tweeted that the newspaper would feature an article on the Fujian transportation chief’s attire the next day. By that time, all articles in the next day’s paper had already been signed off and sent to the printer. According to informants who had read the piece, it only described Li’s expensive taste in accessories but did not accuse him of corruption. 

 

Around 3 o’clock on the morning of October 9, when all copies of the issue were off the press, the newspaper’s editors received seven calls from the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, the Yunnan Propaganda Department and other government authorities requesting withdrawal of the piece on behalf of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee. Editors of the Metropolis Times had to replace the piece with advertisements and reprint all copies. By 6 o’clock a.m., new copies were printed and sent to distributors on time. 

 

While the Metropolis Times has not uttered any response on its official Weibo account, the chief editor, angry and frustrated, related what happened over night: “As a journalist from Fujian, I have never felt so angry and ashamed. I hate and despise the black hands that reached over thousands of miles. When I saw blood and tears on the hundreds of thousands of [destroyed] copies, I tried to comfort myself: Only survivors can contribute to the future. I hold to my belief that those people will answer for what they did eventually.”[2]

 

Although censorship and government oversight is common in China’s news industry, it is rare to receive public confirmation of the destruction of already-printed material. Moreover, a provincial government’s reaching out to control the publication of another province’s newspaper a thousand miles away goes beyond the ordinary scope of censorship, even in China’s tightly-controlled environment. Deng Fei (@邓飞), a journalist at the Phoenix Weekly (@凤凰周刊), tweeted, “The nation is shocked. The news industry mourns. Chinese media has been castrated for many years, but what happened today is especially shameful. How can we face the public? Do we still have the courage to supervise the government?”