Future of top China magazine in doubt after exodus

BEIJING — The general manager of China’s most influential financial magazine and dozens of her staff have resigned, in a possible tussle over editorial control at the path-breaking publication.

Caijing Magazine spokeswoman Heidi Zhang told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the biweekly’s Daphne Wu Chuanhui and 60 to 70 employees who worked for her in the business department have resigned. She declined to comment on the reasons for the exodus.

The mass resignations at Caijing are fueling speculation that editor-in-chief Hu Shuli is also planning to leave, possibly to start her own publication.

Turmoil at Caijing — known for its fearless reporting of corruption, pollution, public health scares and other sensitive topics — could set back efforts to establish a freer press in China. By breaking news on issues thought to be forbidden by the country’s strict censors, the 11-year-old magazine has paved the way for more gutsy reporting by other mainland publications.

Hu is credited with being particularly deft at negotiating the no-go territories, pushing the boundaries to their limits while evading censure or shut down.

In a story Monday, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post cited anonymous staff members as saying that Hu had been trying to pressure the journal’s owner and publisher, Hong Kong-listed SEEC Media Group, into surrendering majority control by bringing in outside investors. The paper said that if Hu failed, she might resign to launch a new venture.

The Post said the business-side resignations were a show of support for Hu.

“I can’t comment on their speculations,” Zhang said when asked about the report. “Shuli is still working. She didn’t take any actions.”

Asked to confirm whether Hu and the magazine’s owner and publisher were in negotiations about a possible restructuring, Zhang said the two sides were expected to “have some communication” but was unable to give specific details.

Calls to SEEC’s public relations offices in Beijing and Hong Kong rang unanswered Tuesday.

Guo Jianlong, a Beijing reporter friendly with Caijing staff, wrote on his personal blog Monday that among the reasons behind the rift were allegations that SEEC forced the magazine to withdraw or delay some sensitive stories, despite previous pledges not to interfere in editorial decision-making, and denied repeated demands for higher editorial salaries.

“In one month, the magazine’s reporters and editors will leave and then the old Caijing will be left with only an empty shell,” wrote Guo, a journalist for the 21st Century Business Herald. His blog didn’t cite specific sources and he declined to be interviewed Tuesday.

Hu, Caijing’s editor-in-chief, is a former reporter and editor with the China Business Times and studied American media and economics while on journalism fellowships in the United States. Hu forbids her reporters from accepting cash handouts routinely given to Chinese reporters at corporate news conferences, a rule that has burnished the magazine’s reputation for objective reporting.

Caijing “would not even be a shadow of its former self” without Hu, said Yuen-ying Chan, a journalism professor at the University of Hong Kong.

“People will be watching very closely for Hu Shuli’s second act and I am confident that it will only be better for all kinds of reasons and there will be people who are willing to fund and support someone with a successful track record,” Chan said.

SEEC has other magazines in its portfolio, but Caijing is its flagship publication.

A company financial report in June said Caijing’s revenue fell 16.9 percent in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier, generating approximately $54.1 million Hong Kong dollars ($6.9 million).