BEIJING (AP) A Chinese newspaper made a rare front-page appeal Wednesday for police to release one of its reporters after he was detained for writing reports alleging financial misdeeds at a large, state-owned construction equipment company.
In an editorial boldly headlined "Please release him," The New Express newspaper said there was no evidence the journalist, Chen Yongzhou, had committed any crime. It said journalists should not be criminally prosecuted for responsibly reporting facts that may embarrass influential companies or individuals.
"Although our newspaper is small, we have a backbone," the editorial said.
The newspaper's protest garnered significant attention in the Chinese blogosphere, with Internet users circulating the editorial and news portals giving it prominent play. It comes at a time when concerns have been raised about heavy-handedness by Chinese authorities against journalists or bloggers who seek to expose wrongdoing or raise critical opinions.
The New Express said Chen was being punished for a series of reports he wrote that scrutinized the finances of Zoomlion, a construction company listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges. The reports accused Zoomlion of artificially inflating its profits.
