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In rare move, editor sacked because staff rebelled
Source: Xinhua |
September 28, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE chief editor who provoked a public mutiny by editorial staff at the world's largest-selling science fiction magazine, Science Fiction World, has been sacked, according to officials in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Li Chang, 53, was removed from his posts of president and chief editor after editors published an open letter claiming he was incompetent and demanding his removal, said Li Dayong, deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China branch of the Sichuan Association for Science and Technology.
Liu Shucheng, the publishing company's vice president, temporarily took charge of the magazine, the official said.
The removal of an editor because of a public complaint is rare in China, where the publication sector is strictly administered by the government, and the president or editor-in-chief of a magazine is appointed by the superior administrative department.
A Xinhua reporter tried to contact Li Chang, but calls to his cellphone were rejected.
The decision by the SAST, which administers the magazine, was made on August 30 and was announced on its official micro-blog on Sunday, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to post comments in support of the decision on the Internet.
"Let's celebrate," said a post by "SHOWPOD" on Baidu.com.
The SAST appointed Li Chang the magazine's president and chief editor last year.
On March 21 this year, the editors published an open letter on douban.com, describing Li Chang as "unprofessional" and his instructions as "arbitrary and impracticable."
The letter was signed by "All the editors of Science Fiction World."
The circulation of the magazine shrank from 150,000 copies per month when Li took over to 130,000 a month before he was suspended on March 31, according to a senior editor.
Li Chang's suspension was also backed by China's leading sci-fi writers when it was announced in April.
"This is obviously a case of a layman leading the experts. If it continues, Science Fiction World will definitely die," said Wang Jinkang, a six-time winner of China's prestigious Galaxy Award for science fiction.
Li Chang, 53, was removed from his posts of president and chief editor after editors published an open letter claiming he was incompetent and demanding his removal, said Li Dayong, deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China branch of the Sichuan Association for Science and Technology.
Liu Shucheng, the publishing company's vice president, temporarily took charge of the magazine, the official said.
The removal of an editor because of a public complaint is rare in China, where the publication sector is strictly administered by the government, and the president or editor-in-chief of a magazine is appointed by the superior administrative department.
A Xinhua reporter tried to contact Li Chang, but calls to his cellphone were rejected.
The decision by the SAST, which administers the magazine, was made on August 30 and was announced on its official micro-blog on Sunday, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to post comments in support of the decision on the Internet.
"Let's celebrate," said a post by "SHOWPOD" on Baidu.com.
The SAST appointed Li Chang the magazine's president and chief editor last year.
On March 21 this year, the editors published an open letter on douban.com, describing Li Chang as "unprofessional" and his instructions as "arbitrary and impracticable."
The letter was signed by "All the editors of Science Fiction World."
The circulation of the magazine shrank from 150,000 copies per month when Li took over to 130,000 a month before he was suspended on March 31, according to a senior editor.
Li Chang's suspension was also backed by China's leading sci-fi writers when it was announced in April.
"This is obviously a case of a layman leading the experts. If it continues, Science Fiction World will definitely die," said Wang Jinkang, a six-time winner of China's prestigious Galaxy Award for science fiction.
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