The South China Morning Post has been accused of self-censorship by local journalists after pulling an opinion piece linking an investor in the Peninsula Hotel’s parent corporation to the Beijing government.
An op-ed titled “How’s the buyer of The Peninsula’s owner linked to Xi Jinping’s right hand man?” by SCMP columnist Shirley Yam, published online on Tuesday and in print yesterday, traced a trail of reports linking an investor in the Peninsula Hotel Group’s holding company to Communist Party director Li Zhanshu.
The piece, while by no means ironclad, made a convincing argument that the aforementioned investor, Chua Hwa-por, was not the private entrepreneur from Singapore he made himself out to be, but rather a mainland businessman with ties to the central government. It was based on research by Next Media and Ming Pao journalists. (Read cached copy here.)
Here is the excellent story about the princeling's purchases in HK. Kudos to @SCMP_News https://t.co/JPVpddyJsd https://t.co/DGn0JGHwJj
— Richard McGregor (@mcgregorrichard) July 18, 2017
While it initially garnered praise, the article was pulled from SCMP‘s website in the early hours of today, with the link redirecting to a note under a new URL. The note, which bore the byline “SCMP Staff”, said Yam’s column was removed because senior editors concluded it did “not meet our standards for publication” on account of “multiple unverifiable insinuations”. SCMP apologized to its readers for the “regrettable misstep”, and vowed to “examine and improve our editorial process as a result.”
The move has sparked backlash among Hong Kong journalists, some of whom alleged that SCMP was engaging in self-censorship. This isn’t the first time SCMP has raised questions about its editorial independence. Many critics expressed concern over the paper’s ties to the Chinese government when it was acquired by Alibaba owner Jack Ma in 2015. At the time, former SCMP writer and CUHK political analyst Willy Lam said Ma and the firm were “very close” to the leadership in Beijing.
Yeah. In sympathy w @SCMP_News , the pressure must have been huge. But, to be frank the story was not nailed shut.
— Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) July 20, 2017
“It is difficult to imagine [Ma] will tolerate critical articles which might reflect negatively on the Communist Party or on the Chinese political system in general,” said Lam.
The retraction issued by the SCMP at 3:58 am this morning (July 19, Thurs) is intriguing, if not stunning. The… https://t.co/LnXegVD2Gz
— Ying Chan (@yingworld) July 20, 2017
Last June, the Post published an exclusive interview with detained civil rights activist Zhao Wei (attributed to a “Staff Reporter”) — who couldn’t be reached by her own lawyer or husband at the time — during which she was quoted as saying, “I have come to realize that I have taken the wrong path. “I repent for what I did. I’m now a brand new person”.
Critics compared the interview to the forced televised confessions which have become increasingly common under Xi Jinping’s administration, and SCMP refused to answer questions about how it had arranged the interview when questioned by the Guardian (read their response here), Zhao’s husband, and her lawyer.
