C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 001173

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2034
TAGS: PROP PHUM PGOV KDEM CH
SUBJECT: EDITOR SUSPENDED FOR INTERVIEW PRAISING "UNIVERSAL
VALUES" (RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY)

REF: A. BEIJING 303

B. 07 BEIJING 7409

C. 06 BEIJING 8115

Classified By: Political Minster Counselor Aubrey Carlson.
Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary and Comment
--------------


1. (C) Zhong Weizhi (protect), the editor-in-chief
of China's only national-level "private" newspaper,
The Economic Observer, was suspended for publishing
an interview with a controversial historian, Zhong
told PolOffs March 25. The historian in question,
Sun Yat-sen University's Yuan Weishi, had apparently
been black-listed by propaganda authorities. Zhong
said Party censors were especially angry because
Yuan had subsequently published an unedited version
of the interview, in which he praised the "universal
values" of democracy and human rights, on his own
blog. Yuan's blog version had then been picked up
by numerous websites. Other factors may have
contributed to Zhong's suspension: the paper had
recently interviewed several controversial figures,
including Charter 08 signers, and Zhong reported
that the Observer had come under increased political
pressure since the outbreak of the global financial
crisis, which had prompted some Chinese officials to
criticize the newspaper's "rightist, free market"
bias. Making matters worse, Zhong himself had
refused to join the Communist Party. Comment:
Although Zhong said he anticipated being re-
instated, his "mistake" illustrates the challenges
editors still face in attempting to identify the
acceptable boundaries of media content. The example
also illustrates the vulnerabilities of "private"
newspapers, like the Observer, that lack strong
political protectors. End Summary and Comment.

Editor-in-Chief Suspended
--------------


2. (C) Zhong Weizhi (protect), the editor-in-chief
of the prominent national weekly newspaper, The
Economic Observer (Jingji Guancha Bao), told PolOffs
on March 25 that an interview the paper had
conducted with the controversial Guangdong province

historian, Yuan Weishi, published March 16, had
angered central propaganda authorities. As a
result, Zhong had been temporarily suspended from
his chief editor duties. Zhong was also required to
write a self-criticism acknowledging that he had not
exercised proper oversight of the paper and had not
been aware that Yuan was a "bad person" (huai ren).
He said he continued to work as chief editor during
the ongoing investigation even though technically he
was supposed to be at home. Cheng Mingxia
(protect), the paper's editor of international news,
added that due to the suspension Zhong was no longer
allowed to sign out pages under his name.


3. (C) Zhong predicted that the investigation would
soon be over and that he would be reinstated, noting
that such suspensions were a regular occurrence for
editors. (Note: The Economic Observer has been in
political trouble a number of times, and on at least
one other occasion, one of Zhong's predecessors as
chief editor was required to attend a self-criticism
session. See ref B.) Zhong was appointed chief
editor in August 2007, one of a handful of chief
editors since The Economic Observer's founding in

2001.

Self-Censorship is Not Easy
--------------


4. (C) Zhong and his editors had rigorously edited
the offending interview with Yuan, as they always do
with controversial authors, to ensure that
politically sensitive content was removed and
"forbidden zones" avoided. However, Zhong said,
they underestimated the degree of political heat
Yuan's name generates with propaganda authorities
simply by appearing in print. In addition,
unbeknownst to the Observer, Yuan had published the
full content of the interview on his blog, retaining
all of the original sensitive comments. The blog
version prompted the censors' ire when it was widely
circulated on the Internet. Zhong said that he was
being punished mainly because of Yuan's blog, and

BEIJING 00001173 002 OF 003


for what Yuan represents to propaganda watchdogs,
rather than the content of the interview as actually
published in the Observer.


5. (C) (Note: This is not the first time that an
article by Yuan, widely viewed as an influential, if
provocative, historian at Guangzhou's Sun Yat-sen
University, has resulted in the political censure of
a newspaper (ref C). In January 2006, Freezing
Point (Bing Dian), at the time an envelope-pushing
supplement of the Communist Youth League paper China
Youth Daily (Zhongguuo Qingnian Bao), printed an
article by Yuan that criticized the Party's official
version of 19th-century Chinese history that appears
in middle-school textbooks. The article prompted
propaganda officials to order that Freezing Point
cease publication for one month and that China Youth
Daily demote the supplement's editor and deputy
editor.)

The Interview
--------------


6. (C) The Economic Observer has removed the
published version of Yuan's interview from its
website, though both the Observer's version and the
unedited transcript published by Yuan were still
available for download on other websites as of April

28. In the published version of the interview, Yuan
blames "blind national arrogance" (mangmu de minzu
zida)" for China's inability to reform itself in the
19th and 20th centuries. Yuan praises the
Declaration of Independence for recognizing
"inalienable rights" of life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness, and expresses optimism that
China will continue towards rule of law, democracy
and constitutional governance.


7. (C) In the blog version, in segments apparently
edited out by The Economic Observer, Yuan goes
further, arguing that China's modernization requires
greater adoption of Western culture because "only
Western countries have achieved real modernization"
through rule of law and democracy. Yuan also
attacks those who criticize "universal values"
(pushi jiazhi) as "ignorant" (yumei) and
"uncultured" (mei wenhua). China has signed the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, all documents that
embody universal values. Thus, Yuan argues, public
criticism of universal values by Chinese officials
harms China's image. All nine mentions of the term
"universal values" by Yuan were removed in the
published version.

Walking a Fine Line
--------------


8. (C) Other factors may have contributed to
propaganda authorities' strong reaction. The
Economic Observer had been criticized recently for
interviewing other "sensitive people," Zhong said.
Zhong told PolOff he had been asked to remove
politically sensitive comments from an interview the
paper ran March 23 with Peking University Law
Professor He Weifang, an outspoken legal activist
who signed the Charter 08 pro-democracy manifesto.
He's comments about why he had not been allowed to
accept a faculty position in Zhejiang province
recently and why he was now being assigned to Peking
University's branch campus in distant Xinjiang
region were especially sensitive, according to
Zhong. (Note: Zhejiang University recently refused
He Weifang a faculty position reportedly because of
his political views and public persona. Shortly
thereafter, Peking University "exiled" He Weifang by
assigning him to teach at PKU's satellite school in
far-west Xinjiang.) Zhong said there had never been
any directive not to interview Charter 08 signers
but the Propaganda Department did not want to see
Charter 08 given more publicity.


9. (C) Although The Economic Observer is a business
publication targeting China's professional,
commercial and government elites, the paper enjoys a
reputation for its provocative social commentary and
its quiet, between-the-lines advocacy of political
change. According to Zhong, the paper had
experienced more political pressure than usual since

BEIJING 00001173 003 OF 003


the outbreak of the global financial crisis, which
had caused some officials to criticize the kind of
"rightist" market economics the Observer champions.
Although the atmosphere had become harder, Zhong
said, the paper would not change its stance due to
this pressure. The financial crisis meant Keynesian
economics was coming to the fore, he said, but
"Keynes was not against markets."


10. (C) Zhong's lack of Party membership may also
have contributed to his suspension. Zhong told
PolOff he had been under considerable pressure to
join the Party since his appointment as chief
editor, but had no interest in doing so. Zhong
explained that even though he was not a CCP member,
he was subject to Party discipline as the editor of
a paper that falls under the supervision of the
Shandong Party Committee. (Note: The Observer is
registered in Shandong Province, even though its
editorial staff is located in Beijing.) Zhong said
his suspension was a form of intra-Party punishment.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) A former Renmin Ribao (People's Daily)
editorial writer (who was himself removed for his
outspoken pro-reform views) recently told PolOffs
that he admired Zhong, whom he described as a well-
known member of the "reform faction" who was "hated"
by leftists for his aggressive promotion of liberal
ideas (ref B). Although Zhong was confident he
would be re-instated, his alleged "mistake" in the
eyes of the censors illustrates the challenges
editors face in attempting to identify the
acceptable boundaries of media content. The example
also illustrates the continuing political
vulnerabilities of "private" newspapers like the
Observer, which is owned by a business consortium in
Shandong province. Unlike the influential private
magazine Caijing, the Observer appears to have no
strong political patron it can call on in times of
political trouble.
PICCUTA