The Chinese media is fed up with censorship has been punished for advocating political reform.
On January 4 the Beijing Communication Administration (BCA) shut down the official website of outspoken magazine, Yan Huang Chun Qiu (YHCQ).
Before the denial of service, YHCQ had just published its New Year message calling for political reform and greater adherence to China’s constitution, which many feel is being ignored.
The message stated that China’s constitution as it stands is mere window dressing and fails to protect private property, judicial independence, freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
The BCA claimed that the site was shut down because the magazine failed to renew its operating licence but the public remains unconvinced. It is widely believed that the website was censored for promoting constitutionalism.
The magazine’s Vice President Jisheng Yang said: “We didn’t receive any notification that our licence had expired. If our website was banned just because we want to uphold the constitution, that person has violated the constitution and will be notorious in China’s history,” the Epoch Times reported.
Yang holds high hopes for China’s new leader Jinping Xi, and expects further political reform will be made to implement the constitution.
“A country will not exist if it isn’t trusted by its people. If the constitution exists only in name, that is a breach of trust against the Chinese people and also people around the world,” he said.
The Chinese public has been impressed with Xi’s efforts to combat corruption since he took power.
“Corruption in China can only be fundamentally solved by political reform, applying the constitution and establishing a system of checks and balances,” Yang said.
The magazine’s vice president welcomed the framed inscription donated by Zhongxun Xi, the new leader’s father, praising Yan Huang Chun Qiu, but said it had not changed anything.
Peking University law professor Weifang He said the Chinese public was permitted to discuss the constitution and how to implement it properly.
“But advocating constitutionalism openly has become political taboo because it’s a big threat to conservative officials in China,” he said.
The YHCQ has applied for a new operating licence but was informed it had to wait another 10 days. The website is still offline.
