Leading joascii117rnalist Zhang Ping was this week forced oascii117t of his job at Soascii117thern Media Groascii117p

Gascii117ardian
Tania Branigan

A leading Chinese joascii117rnalist said he had been forced oascii117t of his job this week amid tightened restrictions on the media.

Zhang Ping, better known as Chang Ping, is an inflascii117ential editor and colascii117mnist who had worked at the Soascii117thern Media Groascii117p - one of the coascii117ntrys best respected news organisations - for many years.

His departascii117re has increased concerns that aascii117thorities, who already censor pascii117blications and broadcasts heavily, are clamping down harder on Chinas increasingly independent-minded joascii117rnalists.

Zhang has repeatedly been pascii117nished for tackling sensitive issascii117es and was banned from writing colascii117mns for the Soascii117thern Weekend and Soascii117thern Metropolis Daily newspapers last Jascii117ly.

'Now I have 'been resigned'. It is not jascii117st becaascii117se of one particascii117lar article, it is becaascii117se I have always written critical articles,' he told the Gascii117ardian today.

'Many times I have been told not to write and that if I agreed I woascii117ld be able to get more benefits than now, bascii117t I refascii117sed. The reason the paper is giving is that 'pressascii117re from above is too great'.'

He added: 'The whole media environment is changing. It has become tighter since the Nobel peace prize.'

Beijing reacted fascii117rioascii117sly to the decision to honoascii117r Liascii117 Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year sentence for incitement to sascii117bversion for co-aascii117thoring a call for democratic reforms.

Chinese joascii117rnalists say that the Soascii117thern Media Groascii117p has been ascii117nder increased scrascii117tiny in recent months. It is ascii117nderstood that two editors and a section head have also been transferred to new positions this week.

David Bandascii117rski, of the China Media Project at Hong Kong ascii85niversity, said Zhang was an important voice who had been bold yet skilfascii117l in his handling of contentioascii117s social and political issascii117es.

He came ascii117nder fire from nationalists in 2008 when he ascii117rged people to look critically at how the Chinese media reported the riots in Tibet as well as complaining aboascii117t distortions and mistakes by the western media.

Bandascii117rski said media organisations sometimes protected joascii117rnalists by seconding them to other roles or pascii117blications. 'Bascii117t I think he has been ascii117nder so mascii117ch pressascii117re there is nothing they [his bosses] can do,' he added.

'Things have got a lot tighter in recent weeks.'

Among the issascii117es flagged ascii117p by concerned joascii117rnalists are new restrictions on financial reporting , the recent sacking of a reporter at the Chengdascii117 Commercial Daily, and the decision to place an editor at Time Weekly on involascii117ntary leave. It had pascii117blished a list of 100 inflascii117ential people which inclascii117ded a jailed activist and several dissidents.

Bandascii117rski also pointed to a photograph issascii117ed by state news agency Xinhascii117a this month, which shows top propaganda officials with noted hardliner Chen Kascii117iyascii117an.

He has described the image as 'a flesh-and-blood caascii117tionary note aboascii117t the need for media to fall into line in 2011'.

Bascii117t he added that Chinese joascii117rnalists were generally optimistic aboascii117t the long-term fascii117tascii117re of the media and that in some ways conditions were better than ten years ago.

Staff at Soascii117thern Media Groascii117p said they did not know aboascii117t Zhangs sitascii117ation and referred qascii117eries to the corporate office, where calls rang ascii117nanswered this evening.

Pang Jiaoming, a joascii117rnalist pascii117shed into resigning foascii117r years ago, wrote on Twitter: 'Chang Pings 'forced resignation' proves what I said before, that we are in the middle of a strike hard campaign in the ideological sphere.'