Recruiting in China

Another personnel reshuffle has taken place in Zhongguo Qingnian Bao, a daily directly under the Communist Youth League [CYL] Central Committee. Chief Editor Li Erliang has been transferred and the vacancy has been filled by Deputy Editor Chen Xiaochuan. Reportedly, the removal of Li Erliang from office is directly related to the Bingdian incident earlier this year.

The transfer is seen as an attempt by the authorities to "put an end" to the incident that evoked the "serious concern" of the media overseas. It has been reported that the authorities are disappointed by the "trouble" caused by Li Erliang and his failure to properly handle the incident.
The decision was "announced internally" and not made public to the agency.

Li Erliang failed to impose final checks and accommodated his subordinates, which resulted in Bingdian Weekly publishing a series of sensitive articles last year. They include a lengthy piece by Taiwan writer Lung Ying-tai drawing a comparison of democracy on both sides of the Taiwan Straits and deliberately underrating the CPC, an essay exposing Zhongnanhai law academics of winning popularity by deception, and an article by Yuan Weishi, professor of Guangzhou Zhongshan University, on modern history that expressed views different from those of the authorities.

Earlier this year, Bingdian Weekly published an article by Yuan Weishi exploring modern history and criticizing the CPC's education system. The move caused a sensation and upset the authorities. As a result, Bingdian Chief Editor Li Datong and Deputy Editor Lu Yaogang were both removed from office.

Source: Ming Pao website, Hong Kong (in Chinese) through BBC Monitoring