The New York Review of Books

‘The premier literary-intellectual magazine in the English language.’

January 8th 2013

4 notes |#

Jonathan Mirsky: I felt a shudder of déjà vu watching the mounting protests inside China this week of the Communist Party for censoring an editorial in Southern Weekend, a well-known liberal newspaper in the southern city of Guangzhou. It is all too similar to the disciplining in April 1989 of another Chinese paper, The World Economic Herald in Shanghai, and its editor, Qin Benli—events that played an important part in the gathering unrest in Tiananmen Square.

The Old Fears of China’s New Leaders

Photo: Students protesting in Tiananmen Square following the death of former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang, Beijing, April, 1989 (Rene Burri/Magnum Photos)

Posted at 5:53pm and tagged with: The New York Review of Books, nybooks, nyrb, Jonathan Mirsky, Southern Weekend, China, Tiananmen Square,.

Jonathan Mirsky: I felt a shudder of déjà vu watching the mounting protests inside China this week of the Communist Party for censoring an editorial in Southern Weekend, a well-known liberal newspaper in the southern city of Guangzhou. It is all too similar to the disciplining in April 1989 of another Chinese paper, The World Economic Herald in Shanghai, and its editor, Qin Benli—events that played an important part in the gathering unrest in Tiananmen Square. The Old Fears of China’s New Leaders Photo: Students protesting in Tiananmen Square following the death of former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang, Beijing, April, 1989 (Rene Burri/Magnum Photos)

March 29th 2012

13 notes |#

Jonathan Mirsky: China’s Death-Row Reality Show

Until it was taken off the air last December, one of the most popular television programs in China’s Henan province, which has a population of 100 million, was “Interviews Before Execution.” The presenter was Ding Yu, a pretty young woman, always carefully dressed with colorful scarves and blouses; in each episode, she would interview on camera a condemned murderer who was about to face a firing squad or a lethal injection.

Photo: Ding Yu interviewing a prisoner

Posted at 4:48pm and tagged with: China, Jonathan Mirsky, Ding Yu, Interviews Before Execution, capital punishment, reality TV, Henan, BBC, death row,.

Jonathan Mirsky: China’s Death-Row Reality Show Until it was taken off the air last December, one of the most popular television programs in China’s Henan province, which has a population of 100 million, was “Interviews Before Execution.” The presenter was Ding Yu, a pretty young woman, always carefully dressed with colorful scarves and blouses; in each episode, she would interview on camera a condemned murderer who was about to face a firing squad or a lethal injection. Photo: Ding Yu interviewing a prisoner