Li Xianting is an independent art critic and curator of contemporary Chinese art. He was actively involved with introducing avant-garde art forms to China in the 1970s and 80s and is frequently described as the Godfather of...
After just 15 months in office, top press regulator Long Xinmin was abruptly reassigned last week. Nobody’s quite certain why. But the General administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) suffered no shortage of embarrassments during Long’s abbreviated tenure, the last a bungled ban attempt on eight books. It triggered unprecedented outrage over censorship from Netizens, […]
From The Telegraph: Zhang Yihe, a historian whose latest banned book was a collection of biographies of Peking Opera singers, has sent a flood of open letters and petitions to the government demanding a change to censorship laws. She has become a ghostly star of the internet: ghostly because the many posts supporting her are […]
Letters From China blog translated following report from Central News Agency, via China Times: At long last, top propagandist Wu Shulin openly denies the book ban accusation:- (in translation) After the seminar, reporters asked...
From AP via TaiPei Times: China either banned or warned more than 20 Chinese writers from attending an international writers’ conference held in Hong Kong over the weekend, organizers said yesterday. “We are very concerned by the restrictions on the writers in mainland China to write, travel and associate freely,” said Jiri Grusa, president of […]
From South China Morning Post: In Shanghai’s muzzled arts world, softly spoken playwright Sha Yexin has made a habit of irritating officialdom with his independent voice. The self-described off-beat writer has acquired a reputation for exposing and criticising the dark side of society, through his plays, articles and willingness to speak out. Last month, he […]
Since author Zhang Yihe published her “My Statement and Position” on Janurary 19, 2007, many intellectuals and ordinary citizens have publicly expressed their support for Ms. Zhang in cyberspace. The following...
Since banned author Zhang Yihe published her “My Statement and Position” on January 19, 2007, her charged words directly challenging the government official Wu Shulin (ÈǨ‰π¶Êûó), who is responsible for announcing the censorship decision, won enormous attention and support in China. Many intellectuals and ordinary citizens have publicly expressed their support for Ms. Zhang, and […]
From Reuters, via Boston.com: The Chinese author of a book about long-dead Peking Opera stars has become the latest challenger to the ruling Communist Party‘s censors, daring them on Friday to explain their secretive ways before the law. Zhang Yihe won fame in China three years ago for a memoir of her father and other […]
From The Standard: On January 1, 2007, the Chinese government loosened restrictions on the media, including those that limited the freedom of foreign journalists to travel and conduct interviews in the country. Shortly after, the Paris-based press watchdog Reporters Without Borders announced an end to its boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Foreign media began […]
From Useless Tree Blog: A recent news story reminds us of the essential Legalism – of the Han Fei Tzu lineage – that lies at the heart of the PRC government. But it also shows us how China is no longer a Legalist society. (For those of you familiar with the book banning issue, scroll […]
Zhang Yihe(Á´†ÊÄ°Âíå), the author of three books, is the daughter of “China’s number one rightist” Zhang Bojun(Á´†‰ºØÈíß), who is, among various titles, China’s first Minister of Transportation, former President of The Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party (‰∏≠ÂõΩÂÜúÂ∑•Ê∞ë‰∏ªÂÖö), and former Chairman of the Guangming Daily (ÂÖâÊòéÊó•Êä•). Zhang Yihe spent ten years in prison during the […]
Translated by ESWN On January 11, 2007, during the opening day of the national book order placements conference, the General Administration of Press and Publications called an “informational” meeting. During the meeting, deputy director Wu Shulin read out a list of “2006 publications that violated regulations.” Among those named, Past Histories of Peking Opera Stars […]
Author Zhang Yihe recently won the Chinese PEN award for her book “The Past is Not like Smoke” (往事并不如烟), which tells the story of her father and other intellectuals who were purged during Mao’s anti-rightist campaign. A Reuters profile is here. Zhang’s acceptance speech is here (in Chinese, with an abstract in English). UPDATE: Thanks […]
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