Mere months after China’s handling of the Eighteenth Party Congress suggested the country would undergo a peaceful leadership transition, the issue of freedom of the press surged to attention this week after a censored editorial in
Southern Weekly (
Nanfang Zhoumo) resulted in a vociferous protest from the newspaper’s editorial staff, and an unexpected ripple of agreement across the country. As this situation continues to play out, we look this week at what brought on these protests, what is at stake, and what the response suggests about the way China’s new government will handle media relations.
And who are our guests? Joining Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn to talk about this ongoing constitutional kerfuffle are two guests we are delighted to welcome back to our studio: Ian Johnson, the former Beijing Bureau Chief for