From openDemocracy:
One day towards the end of August, I received a surprise call from the German embassy in Beijing telling me that Chancellor Angela Merkel would be visiting China, and that one item on her agenda would be a meeting with people who worked in the Chinese news media. The chancellor wanted to find out about the current state of – and recent changes in – Chinese journalism. “Would you be interested in attending the meeting?”, asked the embassy official. “Of course”, I replied. After all, who would turn down such an opportunity? [Full Text]