Banned newspaper returns tamed
3 March 2006
Bingdian Weekly, the China Youth Daily supplement suspended last month for questioning the country's official history, returned Thursday with a front page article denouncing the essay that provoked the crackdown, the Financial Times reported. The report, titled �Anti-Imperialism and Anti-Feudalism are the Themes of Modern Chinese History�, said that Professor Yuan Weishi's call for a more critical analysis of anti-foreigner movements such as the 1900 Boxer Rebellion had �seriously misguided young people�. Despite the tough message this sends out against press freedom, Prof Yuan said he would rather have his work criticized than see publication remain closed, and has even prepared a response to the article. �If they can publish it, that would really promote the use of free debate to resolve academic, ideological and cultural differences in China,� he said.