Prosecutors approve arrest of journalist
Print Edition
The arrest of a journalist who accused a government official of dereliction of duty has been approved by prosecutors in Beijing, according to yesterday’s Beijing News.
Liu Hu, a reporter with the New Express Daily based in the southern city of Guangzhou, was arrested for libel, his lawyer, Zhou Ze, said.
However, there has been no confirmation from either prosecutors or police that Liu’s arrest is linked to accusations against Ma Zhengqi, the deputy head of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce who is still in his post.
On August 25, police in Beijing said Liu had been detained on suspicion of “fabricating and spreading rumors.” Two days earlier, he was handcuffed and taken from his home in southwest China’s Chongqing City.
On July 29, Liu had claimed on his microblog that Ma had failed in his duties when he was an official in Chongqing, resulting in a huge loss of state assets.
Ma was said to have approved the sale of a state-owned food and beverage firm to two officials for 1.7 million yuan (US$277,780) in 2004, even though the firm’s net assets totaled 27.7 million yuan.
Liu wrote: “Ma’s misconduct has led to the loss of millions of yuan in state assets and I urge the Party’s discipline department and anti-corruption bodies to launch an investigation into Ma.” The post was soon deleted but Liu later confirmed it was authentic.
Liu’s information came from his reporting and through his network, Zhou said, adding that Liu had no reason to suspect the veracity of the content.
“It’s impossible that passing on this information constitutes the deliberate spread of false information or the intentional fabrication and transmission of information,” Zhou said.
Following the claims, an official from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said senior officials had been informed, according to the Beijing Times. The administration didn’t say whether an investigation was carried out into the sale.
Last month, China unveiled tough measures in a bid to halt the spread of irresponsible rumors, threatening terms of three years in jail if untrue postings online were widely reposted.
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