Popular novelist prepares to take accuser to court
By Xu Chi |
January 30, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN online battle with renowned "science cop" Fang Zhouzi accusing popular author Han Han of hiring ghostwriters to finish his bestselling novels may end in court.
Lu Jinbo, a publisher of Han's books, said the writer had hired a lawyer to prepare a lawsuit against Fang in Shanghai, demanding a public apology and 100,000 yuan (US$15,790) compensation for damaging his reputation.
On January 15, blogger Mai Tian published an article raising questions over whether Han was a self-made "superstar writer" or if he owed his success to ghostwriters. Mai claimed Han, a professional rally driver, wrote many of his books and blogs during periods when he was taking part in driving events.
He questioned whether Han was using ghostwriters to finish his bestselling books when he had to race and he wondered if they could include his publisher or even his father, who is also a writer.
Han, who is one of China's most popular bloggers, responded in an online article saying he would pay 20 million yuan to anyone who had evidence to show he had hired other writers to finish his work.
Mai then deleted his article and apologized.
But that only marked the beginning of the battle between Han and Fang Zhouzi, who is known for his campaigns against pseudoscience and various frauds in China.
On January 19, Fang opened fire by publishing several articles analyzing Han's writing and accusing him of hiring ghostwriters.
Fang said that in some articles on his blogs Han had used various styles with some appearing to be in a more mature style such as that of his father Han Renjun. He backed up his doubts by saying Han had failed Chinese many times at school.
Han's publisher said Han had collected more than 1,000 pages of his novels' original manuscripts and would hand them to authorities for identification to prove that he worked on the novels on his own.
"Fang has distorted the truth and misguided the public to reach a false conclusion and spread it wildly to damage Han's reputation," Lu said.
In his blog, Han wrote: "A writer's hardships in the past dozen years might just be ruined by a rumor and the performances of several men."
Lu said Han and his lawyer were preparing for the lawsuit and a decision on whether the court would accept the case would be announced soon.
Fang wrote on his blog: "It's Han's right to sue me and it can attract more people to pay attention to the incident and learn the truth behind it. It's not a bad thing. I analyzed and doubted Han and his articles are not violations to his reputation, while Han damaged mine by insulting me and my family online."
Han, 29, was 48th in "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010" in UK magazine New Statesman.
Lu Jinbo, a publisher of Han's books, said the writer had hired a lawyer to prepare a lawsuit against Fang in Shanghai, demanding a public apology and 100,000 yuan (US$15,790) compensation for damaging his reputation.
On January 15, blogger Mai Tian published an article raising questions over whether Han was a self-made "superstar writer" or if he owed his success to ghostwriters. Mai claimed Han, a professional rally driver, wrote many of his books and blogs during periods when he was taking part in driving events.
He questioned whether Han was using ghostwriters to finish his bestselling books when he had to race and he wondered if they could include his publisher or even his father, who is also a writer.
Han, who is one of China's most popular bloggers, responded in an online article saying he would pay 20 million yuan to anyone who had evidence to show he had hired other writers to finish his work.
Mai then deleted his article and apologized.
But that only marked the beginning of the battle between Han and Fang Zhouzi, who is known for his campaigns against pseudoscience and various frauds in China.
On January 19, Fang opened fire by publishing several articles analyzing Han's writing and accusing him of hiring ghostwriters.
Fang said that in some articles on his blogs Han had used various styles with some appearing to be in a more mature style such as that of his father Han Renjun. He backed up his doubts by saying Han had failed Chinese many times at school.
Han's publisher said Han had collected more than 1,000 pages of his novels' original manuscripts and would hand them to authorities for identification to prove that he worked on the novels on his own.
"Fang has distorted the truth and misguided the public to reach a false conclusion and spread it wildly to damage Han's reputation," Lu said.
In his blog, Han wrote: "A writer's hardships in the past dozen years might just be ruined by a rumor and the performances of several men."
Lu said Han and his lawyer were preparing for the lawsuit and a decision on whether the court would accept the case would be announced soon.
Fang wrote on his blog: "It's Han's right to sue me and it can attract more people to pay attention to the incident and learn the truth behind it. It's not a bad thing. I analyzed and doubted Han and his articles are not violations to his reputation, while Han damaged mine by insulting me and my family online."
Han, 29, was 48th in "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010" in UK magazine New Statesman.
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