Editor’s note: The arrest of a New Express reporter this month gained widespread sympathy and condemnation after the newspaper published two front-page editorials with the title “Please Release Him.” ChenYongzhou, 27, wrote dozens of investigative articles that examined how Zoomlion – a large state-owned manufacturer of construction equipment based in Changsha – allegedly committed fraud and engaged in dubious business practices. Chen was apparently lured into a police station in Guangzhou, arrested and taken to detention in Changsha 440 miles away. The charges: Libel.

While arrests of critical reporters isn’t a new thing, this case piqued the public’s interest for a number of reasons: many felt that the Changsha police had overstepped the boundaries by travelling across provincial borders just to detain a suspect; his wife claimed that the number plate of the car that drove him to Changsha belonged to Zoomlion; and perhaps most interesting, the father of Zoomlion’s chief executive was once head of the supreme court in Hunan Province and his father-in-law used to be the deputy party secretary of the province.

However, a recent confession by Chen has dramatically changed the narrative of this story and on October 30 Chen was formally arrested on charges of damaging Zoomlion’s reputation. Rather than criticizing the police, and Zoomlion, this translated article from wenxuecity.com updates us on the latest developments and casts a critical eye on Chen, New Express, and the media industry more generally. With theories unraveling and truths being obscured it is difficult to know who or what to believe, but it is clear that right now no one involved is looking innocent.

The story of reporter Chen Yongzhou and New Express, which gained worldwide attention, has taken a dramatic turn.

According to media reports, Chen Yongzhou, the reporter who was detained by Hunan authorities on suspicion of libel, has confessed to publishing a string of false, unverified reports about Zoomlion. He also admitted to taking several thousand to tens of thousands of RMB as a reward. In a televised broadcast on CCTV, viewers were briefly shown a signed statement by Chen which also mentioned Wang Zhong, a business editor from New Express, as well as the name Zhu Zongwen. A quick internet search identifies Zhu Zongwen as a journalist who used to work for the 21st Century Business Herald and National Business Daily.

The public has continually been suspicious of the circumstances surrounding this entire case and are asking a lot of questions: beyond Chen Yongzhou’s role, what part if any did New Express play in this “illegal trade”? Which company paid Chen Yongzhou to publish the articles? Who is Zhu Zongwen? If Zhu Zongwen was indeed a reporter for several Mainland finance-related media outlets and reports of an illegal trade (whereby journalists are paid to write libelous articles) are true, does this mean that the New Express case is not an isolated one? Could this be a widespread problem in media?

On August 19, before this case came to light, Xi Jinping issued a call to wage a five year war on the country’s unruly internet. During the speech Xi said that “the Communist Party should be combative, instead of being passive, and it should wage a war to win over public opinion.” Society’s attention has indeed been shifting to problems in China’s media sector, especially issues of ethics in finance-related media.

Support for Chen and New Express makes a u-turn

At present, online reports are claiming that the person in charge of New Express has already been detained and that an investigative team has arrived at the news agency. The All-China Journalists Association – who previously stood behind the paper – also did a u-turn by condemning Chen’s actions in a strongly worded statement. “Chen Yongzhou’s actions seriously violated the principles of news authenticity and damaged news media's credibility. New Express’s publication of numerous fabricated articles signed by the reporter in a year was a serious dereliction of duty and should also be held responsible,” the statement read.

According to the CCTV broadcast, from September 29, 2012 to August 8, 2013, Chen Yongzhou was instructed to write articles about fraud and other illegal business practices at Zoomlion based on materials provided by a yet-unknown source. Without verifying the facts or investigating or interviewing Zoomlion, Chen published over ten articles in New Express based on his own analysis and subjective opinions drawn from the material provided to him. These reports were in turn reposted many times on the internet, thus having a serious social impact.

After Chen Yongzhou was detained by Hunan police, the paper – which initially wrote “We are a small newspaper, but we have the backbone no matter how poor we are” on its front page – changed its style to sound more nationalistic. However, others have pointed out that by dedicating an entire front page to the plight of their “idealist” reporter during very unclear times New Express has manipulated public opinion for its own personal benefit. Once more facts came out they then used very pretty language to mask their own failures and mistakes. Endearing terms like “police uncle” and “young wife” suddenly found their way into their editorial.

This kind of “cover-up” approach was undoubtedly the easy way out of the mess. However it also obscures the overall picture: does New Express really have a “backbone” or does it have a “traitor bone”? In recent years, public opinion has turned away from media outlets due to their lack of professionalism and the overt subjectivity of a number of journalists. “During times when the basic facts are not clear, the public shouldn’t overtly create an “innocent victim” image for New Express. This outspoken media outlet was ridiculed precisely for saying too many “big statements” before the actual truth surfaced.

Manipulating the public for their own gains

Looking at the situation today, Chen Yongzhou’s revelations about Zoomlion are no longer just about an individual reporter. If this case really is also related to Wang Zhong from the paper’s finance department and Zhu Zongwen from various finance media outlets, then there is reason to believe that this is an issue of improper behavior by an entire news agency. What’s more, New Express’s tactic of publishing two front page publications to “release him” over two consecutive days, then not only “led astray public opinion” but was also an utter violation of professional ethics, a tactic that used the public for their own agenda.

This kind of behavior by media is not tolerated by any country in the world. In a problem-riddled country like China, reporters can’t use issues like the widespread government corruption and collusion as a veil to write fake stories for personal financial gain. The people can’t tolerate officials who on the one hand talk about justice and honesty while on the other hand engage in rampant corruption; likewise they can’t tolerate media who on the one hand advocates “freedom” and “supervision” but on the other hand earns money through illegal means.

A media outlet that makes a lot of noise about the “fourth estate” theory (a term for the media which alludes to the fact that it is an institution outside the government that watches out for the interests of the people) but that colludes with business people and officials isn’t a public instrument anymore but an accomplice of public corruption.

During Xi Jinping’s speech on August 19, he said that the “starting point and goal” should be “to realize, safeguard and develop the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, to establish a directive that places people at the center, that brings the masses together through education and to meet the demand of increased literacy.” Even though his speech was mainly issued from the perspective of controlling the media, the concept of “serving the people” also applies to the media who must publish true reports.

Since this whole incident is still unfolding and the confession of Chen Yongzhou dramatically changed the course of events, it is still too early to draw any solid conclusions. However, one can say that this case to date has been a lose-lose situation for all parties involved. Let’s hope that this case becomes the “catalyst” that brings about a complete rectification and self-examination of China’s media.  

Source: wenxuecity.com

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Keywords: Chen Yongzhou’s arrest; reporter Chen Yongshou arrest of New Express reporter