A Chinese newspaper yesterday took the unusual move of publishing a front-page editorial calling for the release of a reporter who was detained after accusing a big domestic company of fraud.
New Express, a Guangdong-based newspaper, ran a banner headline that read “Please release him” after police in Changsha, the capital of neighbouring Hunan province, said they had detained one of its journalists.
In a rare example of Chinese media challenging the police, New Express said it “must speak out” about the detention of Chen Yongzhou, who had written investigative stories about Zoomlion, China’s second-biggest construction equipment manufacturer that is part owned by the Hunan government.