Society
Police apologize in person to 'wanted' journalist
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-30 21:53
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HANGZHOU/BEIJING - Police in east China were heading to Beijing Friday to offer a face-to-face apology to a journalist whom they wrongly subjected to an arrest warrant, local authorities said Friday.
However, police officials said earlier Friday that the investigation into allegations of defamation against journalist Qiu Ziming and his newspaper would continue.
Police and government officials of Suichang County, Lishui City in Zhejiang Province, were flying from Zhejiang a day after they canceled the warrant for Qiu, who was accused of defamation by a publicly-listed company.
"My head feels blank. I have felt severely stressed these days. I haven't sleep well for many days," Qiu Ziming told Xinhua Friday by phone.
Qiu, 28, a reporter based in the Shanghai bureau of the Economic Observer News, had been on run since the police issued the warrant on July 23.
The warrant had triggered a furious debate on the rights of journalists as well as its legality.
"There was no problem with my reports," Qiu reiterated to Xinhua Friday.
Zhejiang Kan Specialty Material Co., Ltd. accused him of defaming the company in a series of four "fabricated" reports since June 5, which questioned the company's actions, including allegations of illegal occupation of state-owned assets and obtaining capital from another listed company by using forged land use rights.
Zhejiang Kan suspended public trading on June 7 after Qiu's stories were published. Its half-year financial report this month showed it had made profits of 53.34 million yuan in the first six months, up 205.8 percent year on year.
Police of Lishui City, which administers Suichang, ordered the county's public security bureau to cancel the warrant for Qiu after a review found the warrant failed to meet statutory requirements.
"The Lishui police will continue to investigate the case and responsibility will clarified after further investigation," said Chen Zhong, director of Lishui Public Security Bureau.
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"The supervision from the public is welcome," Ge told Xinhua.
Liu Jian, chief editor of the Economic Observer News, told Xinhua that the police had reacted quickly to correct their fault, which the newspaper appreciated.
Qiu's case would be milestone in the protection of Chinese journalists' rights, said Wang Shengzhong, deputy chief editor of the newspaper.
"It is the duty for the listed companies, government and judiciary authorities to submit to supervision of the public and media, which has not been fully realized by some local governments in China," Wang said.
"New regulations should be promulgated to guarantee the rights of journalists," he said.
"Unlike other freedoms of speech, media supervision belongs to the public domain and should receive more support and protection," said Li Daoyan, a lawyer with Capital Equity Legal Group in Zhejiang Province.
As a listed company, Zhejiang Kan should be subject to media scrutiny, Li said.
Qiu's reports were a normal part of his work, and Zhejiang Kan could take a civil action if the company considered the reports failed to correspond with the facts, Li said.
The crimes of defamation, false charges and infringing commercial goodwill had become a weapon to attack the media, Li said.
Li's view was echoed by Professor Shen Aiguo, of Zhejiang University.
"Journalists' rights of supervision are rights and obligations given by the law in China. The responsibility should belong to the newspaper instead of the journalist," Shen said.
"The case should ring an alarm for the authorities. New laws and regulations should be carried out to clarify the media's legal responsibilities," he said.
Wang Shuo, chief editor of Century Weekly Magazine, a Chinese economic journal, said Qiu's case was not only a rare victory for journalists' rights, but also for public opinion.
However, he warned that the accurate and comprehensive reporting was the best protection for journalists.
