So why was Li Wangyang’s suicide not news?
“I don’t have to explain to you anything. I made the decision and I stand by it. If you don't like it, you know what to do". That was how SCMP's new Beijing editor Wang replied Alex Price, a sub-editor at the paper.
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| Wang Xiangwei the new mandarin at SCMP |
The ‘suicide’ of Tiananmen dissident Li Wangyang under suspicious circumstances in a Hunan hospital, was reported by the Post’s own China staff in its first edition. Editor Wang returned to the office between editions to reduce it to a ‘brief’ buried in the inside pages. Alex Price asked why? Now he fears for his job. Alex circulated the intimidating e-mail exchange to his colleagues in the newsroom and elsewhere.
Li Wangyang’s suicide came days after he spoke to a Hong Kong TV channel, recounting two decades of harsh imprisonment and torture which left his sight and hearing severely damaged. Hong Kong politicians, including York Chow, secretary for food and health, have questioned why a frail man who survived relentless torture for so long, would suddenly decide to hang himself - or even have the strength to do so.
Too many detainees in China's notoriously medieval political gulags have been 'suicided'.
Many pro-Beijing comrades in Hong Kong have also uncharacteristically raised their voices asking for full investigation and disclosure. This is an election year in Hong Kong for expanded Legislative Council seats, due September 9.
Emotions in Hong Kong are running high on Beijing’s unrectified verdict on the Tiananmen students. The pro-Beijing parties fear there could be a backlash. There was a record turnout of 180,000 people for the June 4 anniversary vigil in Victoria Park. The march that erupted on June 10 after the suspicious suicide of Li Wangyang, vented more anger against the blatant disregard for human rights in China.
President Hu Jintau is due to visit Hong Kong on July 1 for the 15th anniversary of the handover. The minders at the Hong Kong & Macau Affairs Office and the China Liaison Office are nervous of demonstrations during that high-profile visit.
Xiangwei the final nail in SCMP coffin?
When Xiangwei, a Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Congress (CPPCC) member, was appointed editor-in-chief of Hong Kong’s 110-year paper of record, many industry professionals had misgivings. The more optimistic hoped that the independent journalistic traditions at the century-old paper would prevail over political correctness.
Wang Xiangwei was invited to articulate his intentions for the paper at Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club in April this year. The audience was none the wiser for his talk but Xiangwei pledged to uphold journalistic standards of reporting ‘without fear or favour’. The spin was predictable.
He did say that two months was too short a time to judge his editorship and asked his FCC audience to invite him back in six months. They should. He has a lot to answer for which is depressing for journalism at one of Asia’s long admired English language newspapers.
The sorry journalism at the Straits Times in Singapore, the discredited mainstream media in Malaysia and Burma and the woefully provincial press in Manila, all explain why the SCMP is such a relief to read. For how much longer?
The hiccups which SCMP has gone through with the serial termination of political cartoonists and China reporters continue to reverberate. Is Wang Xiangwei the final nail on the coffin? The spin-doctors at the China Liaison Office (HQ for ‘united front’ activities) could not have wished for a more effective liaison.
More insightful China analysis
It is generally acknowledged that the SCMP’s China news coverage, commentary and analysis is consistently superior to any international newspaper. Is that due to Xiangwei’s access to the inner networks of the PRC government, party and academics?
One comment on the whistle-blowing news site Asia Sentinel from a Wen Yiduo stated:
“Wang Xiangwei makes a zero contribution to the China section, aside from assigning meaningless and stupid stories. Anything good that appears in the China pages is due to the many knowledgeable reporters who cover China. If anything Wang Xiangwei censors news or gets in the way”.
As a CPPCC member at the national level, Xiangwei would not be considered a security risk. He is not categorized as a dissident or Westernized liberal. The bosses in Beijing are quite relaxed about their man in power at the SCMP. His instinct on sensitive issues is ‘reliable’ as the Li Wangyang incident has shown.
After the other Hong Kong papers covered Li Wangyang’s suicide comprehensively, the SCMP joined the queue with strong features, editorials and commentary. Xiangwei obviously looks over his shoulder for cues before treading on sensitive issues.
Editor-in-Chief needs to be a leader too
What is emerging from the SCMP newsroom is that Wang Xiangwei lacks people skills, organizational ability and respect for time. He has been known to confirm appointments with his subordinates which then drift by for hours or days. He is dismissive of subordinates who query his edicts. He does not share his vision for the paper or articulate any clear editorial philosophy for his journalists. His news conference style is not participative.
Like a mandarin in office, he is imperious and aloof. In a creative environment of writers and analysts, that does not sit well. The lack of inspirational leadership in the newsroom is a damper for most who looked forward to the change from its last Singaporean editor-in-chief who served management in gutting the senior echelon.
More Beijing talent from Xiangwei’s network is being appointed to senior positions and Western journalists are feeling unwelcome.
The Malaysian trio who were brought in earlier have departed for a new era of Singaporean chiefs following the appointment of former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo as vice-chairman of Kerry Group (a unit of Kuok Group) from January this year. Kerry Group has a controlling interest in the SCMP.
Replacing western journalists and introducing security department officials into supervisory positions at the Straits Times is well known throughout the industry. The South China Morning Post will have the dubious benefit of this media muzzling expertise from its new advisers.
ENDS
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