![\"07caijing-master180-v3\"](\"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/files\/2015\/09\/07caijing-master180-v3.jpg\")
<\/a>A screen grab of CCTV footage of Wang Xiaolu, a journalist with the Caijing business magazine. He was compelled to confess that he had written a “sensational” and “irresponsible” article on the stock market. Credit Cctv\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty Images\nHONG KONG \u2014 When the Chinese Ministry of Public Security arrested nearly 200 people at the end of August for \u201cspreading rumors,\u201d one of the most prominent targets was Wang Xiaolu, a reporter for the respected business magazine Caijing.<\/p>\n
Mr. Wang was compelled to confess on television before going to trial. Dressed in a green polo shirt and looking downcast, he told viewers of China Central Television, the main state network, that he had gathered information using private sources \u201cthrough abnormal channels,\u201d then added to this his \u201cown subjective views.\u201d The article in question, Mr. Wang said, was a \u201csensational\u201d and \u201cirresponsible\u201d report on the stock market.<\/p>\n
That the state would take aim at a publication like Caijing came as a surprise to many. The magazine has a strong reputation for hard-hitting investigations and pushing the boundaries of what the government might deem permissible. Yet it has steered clear of prohibited topics like the Falun Gong movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how to measure the boundary lines,\u201d Caijing\u2019s founder, Hu Shuli, told The New York Times in 2005. \u201cWe go up to the line \u2014 and we might even push it. But we never cross it.\u201d<\/p>\n
So the public shaming of one of its journalists has raised fears about prospects for journalistic freedom within China \u2014 and the direction of Caijing itself.<\/p>\n
The publication was set up in 1998 by Ms. Hu, a former propaganda writer for the Communist Party publication Workers\u2019 Daily, and it took an aggressive journalistic approach from the beginning. The cover of the first issue focused on a property company with a rocketing share price that had been suspended from trading after overstating its profits. A few insiders were tipped off beforehand and managed to unload their shares.<\/p>\n
In an editorial on the future of journalism in China, Ms. Hu wrote: \u201cBy simply reporting the story and pointing out places where the system failed to protect small investors, we incited a stir. Government watchdogs immediately criticized Caijing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caijing, a biweekly magazine with a circulation of 225,000, has continued chasing the same types of stories. Expos\u00e9s by Caijing \u2014 which means finance and economics in Chinese \u2014 have covered such topics as illegal securities trading, stock price manipulation and falsified profits. Some of the reports have prompted regulatory investigations.<\/p>\n
But for a business-focused publication, it has also ventured further into less traditional territory.<\/p>\n
In 2003, Caijing was one of the few Chinese media outlets to report critically on the SARS crisis. The government tried to control the story, said David Bandurski, an editor at the China Media Project based at the University of Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome media, Caijing and Southern Metropolis Daily, decided they were going to report,\u201d Mr. Bandurski said. \u201cHu Shuli was going into West China with her hazmat suit. Around the time of SARS, April 2003, was the beginning of what they think of as the media spring. Official guidance totally fell apart.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2008, Caijing reported on how construction standards had been ignored and public money was wasted in Sichuan, leading to the collapse of many schools during an earthquake. Other publications were punished for covering the collapsed schools, but Caijing was not.<\/p>\n
Mr. Bandurski said the importance of economic reform to the government meant elites wanted strong financial reporting. Caijing seized the opportunity.<\/p>\n
But it also occasionally crossed the line, from Beijing\u2019s point of view. Wang Boming, who helped obtain financing for the publication when it started, told The New York Times in 2005 that people from the magazine had been called to perform \u201cself-criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n
By AMIE TSANG SEPT. 6, 2015 A screen gra … Continue reading
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