“Chinese magazine challenges government over censorship”, 8 Mar 2016

 An article on Caixin’s English-language website on Tuesday claimed the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) …had ordered the removal of an interview posted on its Chinese-language website that focused on the issue of free speech. In response to that act of censorship, the magazine [Caixin]...took the highly unusual step of challenging the government in an article headlined: Story about Adviser’s Free Speech Comments Removed from Caixin Website.

Caixin’s decision to take on China’s censors comes less than a month after Xi, whose rise to power has seen a severe political tightening, made a high-profile visit to Chinese news outlets to demand their absolute loyalty.

 “Chinese media are under a lot of pressure right now. They have been under pressure for years, even before Xi Jinping. But it has intensified to such a level under Xi that we are really seeing the erosion of nearly all space for professional media,” added Bandurski, who is the editor of the University of Hong Kong’s China Media Project.