In a country where newspapers usually toe the government line, the defiance by the Beijing News was remarkable. Not since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests had reporters banded together in such a dramatic way for the cause of press freedom.
The challenge by both the Southern Weekly and the Beijing News highlights a pivotal struggle between media increasingly pushing for independence and a Communist Party government that brooks no dissent to its rule.
That night at the Beijing News, Dai and Wang called a meeting with a small group of staff - mostly editors, though reporters who were close to the office rushed back. They asked for opinions about running the editorial criticising the Southern Weekly.
Everyone opposed it despite a threat from the authorities to shut their paper down, said a senior Beijing News editor who gave Reuters a detailed account of the turmoil in the newsroom. Full story
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- How a feisty Chinese newspaper stood up for press freedom - Yahoo! News Canada
