Mere months after China's handling of the 18th Party Congress suggested the country would undergo a peaceful leadership transition, the issue of freedom of the press surged to attention this week after a censored editorial in the Southern Weekly (Nanfang Zhoumo) resulted in a vociferous protest from the newspaper's editorial staff, and an unexpected ripple of agreement across the country. As this situation continues to play out, we look this week at what brought on these protests, what is at stake, and what the response suggests about the way China's new government will handle media relations.

And who are our guests? Joining Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn in the studio to talk about this ongoing constitutional kerfuffle are two guests we are delighted to welcome back to our studio: Ian Johnson, the former Beijing bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal who now writes for the New York Times, and Jeremiah Jenne, the new director of the IES Program in Beijing.

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 said on
January 13, 2013
Love the Milton Berle comparison, Mr Jenne.

Also good chemistry between optimistic Kaiser and realistic Jeremy again.
 said on
January 13, 2013
Don't you mean "good chemistry between realistic Kaiser and pessimistic Jeremy"?
 said on
January 14, 2013
Recommendations:

Kaiser

China's Urban Billion: The Story Behind the Biggest Migration in Human History by Tom Miller

http://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Urban-Billion-Migration-Arguments/dp/1780321414

Jeremiah

Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War by Stephen Platt

http://www.amazon.com/Autumn-Heavenly-Kingdom-Taiping-ebook/dp/B0050DIX42

Ian

Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750 by Odd Arne Westad

http://www.amazon.com/Restless-Empire-ebook/dp/B008EMEH1Y/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2

Jeremy

1. Follow John Pomfret on Twitter -https://twitter.com/JEPomfret

2. China Media Project - http://cmp.hku.hk/

Other Mentions

"Solzhenitsyn, Yao Chen, and Chinese Reform" - New Yorker - Evan Osnos

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2013/01/solzhenitsyn-yao-chen-and-battle-over-chinese-reform.html

Luo Changping 1999 New Year's Letter for Southern Weekly (Chinese) -http://www.infzm.com/content/22205
 said on
January 15, 2013
Kaiser mentioned working for the dark side. Where should bright young multilingual westerners turn to if they are looking to get in on that?
 said on
January 15, 2013
@jlemien There are plenty of PR companies always looking for bright young multilingual westerners in China's first-tier cities. You can't throw a rock in Beijing or Shanghai without hitting someone who works for a big PR firm. Generally, some experience at an agency is desirable for companies looking to hire in-house talent. Best of luck! (And it's not really "the dark side:" there are plenty of people who work in PR who haven't sold their souls!)

 said on
January 15, 2013
Thanks for the advice/encouragement. I'll do some research and look around a bit. :)
 said on
November 16, 2013
Maybe Jermey is a sinic, but he sounds much more of a clear-eyed realist. I think he is in a good position to shoot strait about the government in China since he lived through apartheid in South Africa!
Mark Lesson Studied