January 30, 2013
What does the Southern Weekly incident mean for the future of free speech in China?
China’s Southern Weekly demonstration on censorship
The Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly sparked a demonstration on press censorship in early January. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
The crisis surrounding the Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly has almost calmed down, but on January 17, the latest issue of the Weekly rippled the State’s superficial tranquility yet again with a new announcement: The paper corrected three technical mistakes that were made in the troublesome “New Year’s Editorial” that provoked waves of protest in the country at the beginning of January.
This correction is isolated and paradoxical, and allows much room for interpretation. From the new announcement it looks like the editorial staff is claiming authorship of the January 3 “New Year’s Editorial,” although the world knows that the propaganda chief Tuo Zhen of Guangdong Province changed the piece before its publication. The paper’s original editorial asked for more liberty and constitutional order, while the fake one praised the glory of the CCP. Not surprisingly, the journalists and editors of the Weekly were enraged by the tampering. They promptly started a public protest that rolled out like a snowball, becoming the biggest sensation of the first week of the new year.
But what do these January 17 corrections mean? Did the newspaper’s staff want to show that it had to swallow the humiliation and pressure from above? Does it intend to mobilize a new wave of sympathy to fight against censorship?
It’s hard to say. Since speaking the truth is not possible in this country, one has to be cynical enough to beat around the bush and get used to all kinds of puzzles. Every line and subtle expression must be deciphered and interpreted; the imagination is boundless and charades are both political barometers and important indicators in China.
Let’s look at the situation again. During the earthquake-like protest around the Southern Weekly affair, thousands of ordinary citizens gathered together at No. 289, Guangzhou Boulevard, in front of the newspaper plaza.