Journalists Strike in China to Protest Censorship

January 7th, 2013

In Guangzhou, China, journalists for the Southern Weekend newspaper are striking in opposition to censorship of an op-ed that called for rights in China’s constitution to be better respected.

After passing through China’s censorship process, the op-ed was altered to praise China’s current political system.

Significantly, many people have showed up to support the protest, and a number of famous actors have voiced their support. This could end up being a major test for the new regime led by Xi Jinping, and an indicator of how he intends to rule. If he sides with the protestors (in some form), it should indicate that he seeks to decrease censorship of China’s news media. Or he could side with the government and maintain China’s status quo.

Follow this story. It may quiet down, but it could also end up being important.