Caijing journalist's shaming signals China's control over media

Wang Xiaolu was compelled to confess on television before going to trial over a report on the stock market

When the Chinese Ministry of Public Security arrested nearly 200 people at the end of August for "spreading rumours," one of the most prominent targets was Wang Xiaolu, a reporter for the respected business magazine Caijing.

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 "through abnormal channels", then added to this his "own subjective views". The article in question, Wang said, was a "sensational" and "irresponsible" report on the stock market.

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.

"I know how to measure the boundary lines," Caijing's founder, Hu Shuli, who resigned in 2009, told The New York Times in 2005. "We go up to the line - and we might even push it. But we never cross it."

So the public shaming of one of its journalists has raised fears about prospects for journalistic freedom within China - and the direction of Caijing itself.

The publication was set up in 1998 by Hu, a former propaganda writer for the Communist Party publication Workers' 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.

In an editorial on the future of journalism in China, Hu wrote, "By simply reporting the story and pointing out places where the system failed to protect small investors, we incited a stir. Government watchdogs immediately criticised Caijing."

Caijing, a biweekly magazine with a circulation of 225,000, has continued chasing the same types of stories. Exposes by Caijing - which means finance and economics in Chinese - have covered such topics as illegal securities trading, stock price manipulation and falsified profits. Some of the reports have prompted regulatory investigations.

But for a business-focused publication, it has also ventured further into less traditional territory.

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.

"Some media, Caijing and Southern Metropolis Daily, decided they were going to report," Bandurski said.

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.

Bandurski said the importance of economic reform to the government meant elites wanted strong financial reporting. Caijing seized the opportunity.

But it also occasionally crossed the line, from Beijing's 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 "self-criticism."

Wang, who is president of the Stock Exchange Executive Council, (SEEC), and helped establish the stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, is now editor in chief at the magazine. Caijing is owned by SEEC Media, a company listed in Hong Kong, which sells advertising.

Hu resigned as editor after a dispute with the publishers. Hu left along with most of the editorial team. She went on to form Caixin Media, a news group focused on finance.

Caijing, observers say, has stayed at the forefront of financial reporting and has performed better than many expected. But the confession of Wang Xiaolu has some questioning whether free rein for Caijing, Caixin and publications like them is coming to an end, either because of government pressure or because journalists are trying to protect themselves.

©2015 The New York Times News Service