Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Censorship row erupts as Hong Kong newspaper sacks Beijing correspondent

A terminated Beijing bureau chief accused a Hong Kong newspaper of self-censorship on Tuesday, saying the paper "downplayed" sensitive stories from China. Veteran reporter Jasper Becker, author of a number of books on China and North Korea, was dismissed on Monday for refusing to cooperate with the South China Morning Post newspaper's Hong Kong-based China editor, Wang Xiang Wei. Becker said he was fired because he complained about major stories in China being downplayed and ignored. His dismissal follows a meeting between Becker and the Post's editor, Thomas Abraham, earlier this month when Becker complained after being refused permission to go to Tibet on a 10-day working trip.

Speaking on Hong Kong radio station RTHK Tuesday, Becker said he used the meeting to raise a number of complaints about alleged self-censorship by the newspaper and Wang. "We were downplaying stories and ignoring major stories in China, and I felt this was becoming noticed among journalists and in the diplomatic community in Beijing," said Becker.

The South China Morning Post rebutted Becker's allegations, and said he was sacked for refusing to work with the China editor. "Jasper has never been prevented from writing on any subject that could be deemed sensitive. We don't know what he is talking about," a South China Morning Post spokeswoman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "The reason for his dismissal - and the only reason - is his refusal to work with the China editor."

Becker said the Post downplayed stories about the Falun Gong spiritual group, and did not send reporters to cover major events such as Falun Gong's takeover of a TV station, and industrial unrest in China's provinces. Speaking on the newspaper's refusal to let him go to Tibet, Becker said, "It is quite rare for journalists to get such invitations, and this was blocked by the China editor and the editor who said they couldn't see any news value in going to Tibet."

"The South China Morning Post is committed to producing independent reports and analysis on China, and our editorial direction has not changed. We have not downplayed important stories," the Post spokeswoman said. She added the Tibet trip had been refused because it was not considered newsworthy enough to justify the bureau chief taking 10 days out of the office. A Hong Kong-based reporter had gone on a trip to Tibet only a few months earlier, the spokeswoman said, producing a series of articles.

Respected China commentator Willy Lam resigned from the Post after being removed as China editor in November 2000 following complaints about him by the newspaper's owner, Malaysian Chinese tycoon Robert Kuok, who wrote a letter to his own newspaper criticising Lam. More than 150 journalists on the newspaper signed a letter protesting Lam's removal as China editor. Lam later claimed he had been subjected to censorship, and had to submit his weekly column for vetting to the then-editor Robert Keatley.

Human rights groups have expressed concern that Hong Kong newspapers have since the 1997 handover of the territory from Britain to China been prone to self-censorship. Hong Kong maintains a free press under its post-handover mini-constitution, the Basic Law, which guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the press.