By: Reporters at a Beijing newspaper known for covering sensitive topics walked off the job after an editor was removed this week amid efforts to tighten press controls, employees said Friday.
The informal strike at the Beijing News was highly unusual for China's entirely state-controlled media. It reflected tensions between communist leaders and media outlets, which have pushed the limits of official tolerance in recent years, sometimes drawing punishment for aggressive reporting on corruption and other politically charged issues.
Reporters stopped filing stories Thursday after the removal of editor Yang Bin, said employees contacted by phone. On Friday, the tabloid was 32 pages, compared with more than 80 on a normal day.
"Most of the 400 reporters and editors are unhappy about Yang Bin leaving," said a reporter who asked not to be identified. "We don't know how many high-level officials might leave their post."
Employees said they didn't know why Yang was removed. It wasn't clear how many reporters took part in the protest or how long it might last.
A spokesman for the Beijing News denied there was any protest. "Everything here is normal," said the spokesman, who would give only his surname, Luo.
The Beijing News is audacious even by the standards of a new wave of Chinese newspapers that compete for readers by reporting on scandals and other previously forbidden topics.
In June, it broke the story of an attack by armed men that killed six villagers who were protesting the seizure of land for a power plant near the northern city of Dingzhou. The government arrested more than 100 people and investigated two local Communist Party officials after the report was picked up by other Chinese outlets and foreign media.
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