Chong Tien-siong, editor-in-chief of Ming Pao newspaper, is in hot water with journalists, editors, and politicians who accuse him of trying to save China from embarrassment by replacing Monday’s headline story featuring declassified findings on the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
The intended feature story consisted of diplomatic cables and eyewitness accounts of the tragic Tiananmen Square crackdown in ’89.
Last night, around 80 reporters and editors gathered outside Ming Pao’s office in Chai Wan to demonstrate against the decision, placing pens on the ground to show they’re ready to stop writing for the newspaper.
The editorial team spent about a week on the headline story, only to have their work take a back seat to Alibaba’s recent donation to youth entrepreneurs in Hong Kong.
Civic Party legislator Claudia Mo questioned the decision and accused Chong of trying to spare Beijing’s embarrassment, while Democratic Party member Emily Lau said the incident could damage the paper’s credibility.
On Monday, the Ming Pao Staff Association said Chong’s decision went against the unanimous will of the editorial board and reporters, and that he had failed to come up with a reasonable explanation for changing the front page at the last minute.
Chong defended his actions today, claiming he didn’t make any changes to the original story and that it was published in a prominent position elsewhere in the paper.
Words: Sidney Gourgel
Photo: EJI
