CHINA-INTERNAL: PROPAGANDA CONTROLS-DETENTION OF JOURNALIST

 37-year old Liu Wei, Deputy Director of the Guangdong-based Southern Metropolis News, was detained by police in the city of Pingxiang, in Jiangxi province, on October 8, 2015, on suspicion of allegedly illegally obtaining state secrets. A request for him to be bailed was refused by Jiangxi police on October 9. Confirming his detention, his newspaper said he had "disappeared" at Chengdu airport, in Sichuan province.


Qiao Mu , Dean of Beijing Foreign Studies University's Centre of International Communication Studies, said he feared the detention of journalists could become a widespread crackdown, similar to the recent detentions of numerous lawyers. He added that "Both media professionals and academia are shocked" and described it as "a sign of further limits on reporting and citizens' rights to know such information."

Most reports of Liu Wei's detention were quickly censored on digital platforms on October 16, 2015, but only after many journalists had shared the news on social media.
 






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