China newspaper staff, supporters in grave danger as dictatorship expresses intent to repress

Controversy reveals China refusing reform as newspaper fought government over information censorship

‘Warnings’ for China celebrities over censorship row

AFP – Chinese authorities handed warnings to several celebrities who voiced support for a newspaper at the centre of a censorship battle online, newspaper reports and social media posts said Friday. Taiwanese singer Annie Yi, who works in mainland China, said on her social media account.

End to China media row dims reform hopes

AFP – The way China’s leaders contained a rights row that saw rare protests against censorship shows there is no consensus for rapid change, analysts say, despite rising calls for press freedom and other reforms. Since China’s president-in-waiting, Xi Jinping, was installed as the new Communist chief.

As the proverbial smoke clears from the battlefield where journalists from the feisty Southern Weekend newspaper fought government censors this week, the reporters’ victory seems to have yielded only meager gains.  Staffers at the weekly, based in the southern city of Guangzhou, won a pledge.