Opinion | Dark drama where only insiders know the script
The truth behind the arrest of New Express reporter Chen Yongzhou over articles critical of HK-listed Zoomlion will likely never be known
Who are we to believe? This is the conundrum facing many mainlanders as they witness a saga with multiple twists involving an outspoken tabloid newspaper, one of its reporters now under arrest, a leading heavy equipment manufacturer and, inevitably, the law enforcement agencies.
However the saga unfolds there is a widespread belief that the whole truth, whatever it is, will never be fully revealed - that there is a dark drama being played out for which only insiders know the script.
What is known so far: police in Changsha last Tuesday night confirmed Chen Yongzhou , a reporter with the Guangzhou-based daily , was detained on October 18 for writing a series of stories "smearing the reputation" of Zoomlion, which is based in Changsha . The company had blamed Chen's multipart series for a drop in its shares listed in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
The fought back. It ran front-page editorials on consecutive days urging police to release Chen. It also asserted that after checking 15 stories with Chen's byline, they believed his reports were accurate except for one figure wrongly used.
The editorials were an eye-opener in themselves. Publishing front-page appeals directed at the police is rare on the mainland. Indeed some people said it was probably the first time a newspaper had taken such an audacious action since the founding of modern China in 1949.
The reaction to the appeals from at least one quarter was also exceptional. Not only did the editorials win huge backing from mainland journalists and media outlets, even the news industry regulator, the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, raised concerns about Chen's arrest.
