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CHINA: Were business newspaper’s investigative reporters fired or given other jobs?
Reporters Without Borders 无国界记者 | 21 July 2011
Reporters Without Borders condemns the closure of the investigations unit at the daily China Economic Times (中国经济时报) at the behest of the newspaper’s management on 18 July and is concerned about the fate of Wang Keqin (王克勤), the respected journalist who had run the unit for years, and the five other people in his team.
The unit’s closure, which defies all editorial logic, comes at a particularly repressive time for those who defend fundamental rights and for independently-minded journalists.
“We wonder what motivated this decision, which was almost certainly not taken for economic reasons,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Was it taken at the highest level of the state apparatus? The newspaper’s management must provide a clear explanation for this measure, which has all the hallmarks of an eviction. A pioneer of investigative journalism in China, Wang has made a major contribution to media freedom.”
Qian Gang of the China Media Project, a Hong Kong-based media studies centre to which Wang is affiliated, said on 18 July that China Economic Times’ investigative unit had been “dismantled.” When contacted by various media, Wang was not in a position to comment on the closure. “I must hang up,” he told Agence France-Presse.
Several sources told Reporters Without Borders that Wang and his team could lose their jobs or could be transferred to other sections at the newspaper.
Since joining China Economic Times 10 years ago, Wang and his team had conducted investigations into sensitive subjects of public interest. In 2002, he published an investigation into shortcomings in the management of the Beijing taxi monopoly. After months of research, he published a report in 2010 on the grave professional misconduct that led to the death of children who had been given defective vaccines in 2006 and 2007. After defending Wang, Bao Yueyang (包月阳) was forced to stand down as China Economic Times editor in May 2010.
Wang has been the target of death threats and physical violence on several occasions as a result of his investigative reporting.
Source:
Reporters Without Borders 无国界记者 | 2011年7月20日
无国界记者关切《中国经济时报》“特别报道部”关闭与记者王克勤命运
中国
关切《中国经济时报》“特别报道部”关闭与记者王克勤命运 无国界记者对北京的《中国经济时报》管理层7月18日关闭该报“特别报道部”的决定表示遗憾，无国界记者对王克勤的处境表示关切，多年来，该报特别报道部由受尊敬的资深记者王克勤负责，有五名记者。无国界记者认为，这一关闭决定，违反了报业运营的全部逻辑，是对该报特别报道部这些捍卫基本权利、拥有独立思想的记者们严酷压制。
“我们想知道这一决定的动机，我们认为这几乎不可能是出于经济原因，”无国界记者说，“中国经济时报的管理层关闭特别报道部的决定对王克勤来说，几乎显然是一种驱逐，王克勤是中国调查记者的先驱，他对中国媒体自由作出了巨大贡献。” 无国界记者认为，“这一决定是否来自中国政府高层？该报应该提供清晰的解释。” 7月18日，香港大学传媒研究中心中国传媒主任钱刚在其微博上透露，《中国经济时报》的特别报道部“被连锅端”。此后虽然多家媒体联络王克勤，但他对此事未作评论，他对法新社说，“我不能说话。”
几个信息来源告诉无国界记者，王克勤和他的团队将丢掉工作或者被迫转到报社的其他部门。
王克勤加入《中国经济时报》已10年，王和他的团队在许多敏感领域为了公共利益作调查报道。2002年，他就北京出租车权力垄断导致司机收入微薄被剥削做了深入调查。2010年，经过几个月的调查后，他刊发了山西疫苗乱象报道。该报道揭露了山西省疾控中心系统官员的管理不善和贪污腐败问题，以及可能由此引发了失效疫苗导致的儿童死亡、伤残问题，报道在中国引起巨大反响。由于保护王克勤，中国经济时报当时的社长、总编辑包月阳被迫调离报社，转任一家出版社的负责人。
王克勤的报道多次被中宣部禁止，而因为他的报道，他本人多次成为死亡和暴力袭击威胁的对象。
Source:
Benjamin Ismaïl
Asia-Pacific Desk
Reporters Without Borders
Paris - France
33 1 44 83 84 70
http://en.rsf.org/asia,2.html
