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Xinhua: Sing Pao Chief Remains a “Fugitive”

In a recent article, Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao cited a dispatch from Xinhua, dated October 20, 2016, that the police still have a warrant out to arrest Gu Zhuoheng, the chief of Sing Pao Daily News. In the past several weeks, Hong Kong-based Sing Pao has been carrying front page commentaries harshly criticizing Beijing’s No. 3 leader, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress.

Sing Pao, which is also known for its ties to Beijing, denied that Gu was a wanted man. It dismissed the attacks as being “some power’s” attempt at political revenge. Since late August, Sing Pao, with help from the central government’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, has been criticizing Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying for escalating the confrontation. In early October, Sing Pao editorials named Jiang Zemin, former secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as Zhang Dejiang’s backer.

Meanwhile, in its October 1 issue, the official magazine of Beijing’s disciplinary arm, headed by Wang Qishan, widely considered to be an ally of China’s top leader Xi Jinping, published an article that cited favorable international feedback about how Beijing has been straightening up morals and nailing corrupt officials. Sing Pao was listed among the ranks of the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times as overseas newspapers that covered Xi’s anti-corruption drive in a positive light.

On the other hand, Global Times, a subsidiary of the CCP flagship newspaper People’s Daily, and Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong newspaper controlled by the Liaison Office, have joined hands in responding to Sing Pao editorials by placing emphasis on its chief’s “fugitive” status.

Sources:
Ta Kung Pao, October 21, 2016
http://news.takungpao.com/hkol/topnews/2016-10/3382730.html
Journal of China’s Disciplinary Inspection and Supervision, Issue No. 19, October 1, 2016
http://zgjjjc.ccdi.gov.cn/bqml/bqxx/201609/t20160929_87404.html
Global Times, October 12, 2016
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2016-10/9537676.html
Wen Wei Pao, October 21, 2016
http://paper.wenweipo.com/2016/10/21/HK1610210010.htm
Radio Free Asia, October 20, 2106
http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/htm/hk-singpao-10202016093504.html