One of the biggest uproars on the Internet is the story of Zhang Zhiguo’s reaction to a “libellous story.” More from Reuters, via the International Herald Tribune:
Police in northeast China have travelled nearly 1,000 km (600 miles) to subpoena a Beijing reporter over a story they say libelled a local Communist Party chief, a move described by Internet users as outrageous.
Under Chinese law, libel is a civil offence, not a crime, outside the realm of police unless it “seriously jeopardises social order or national interests”.
Zhu Wenna, a reporter for Faren magazine, published a story on January 1 indicating illegal dealings and heavy-handed measures by Zhang Zhiguo, Party boss of Xifeng county in the northeast province of Liaoning, against a critic, the Beijing News said. [Full text]
