David Barboza’s expose on the extent of Wen Jiabao’s family’s “hidden riches” has won him a Putlizer. He beat out the Associated Press for its coverage in Syria and Richard Marosi of the Los Angeles Times for his work on deportation of Mexican immigrants.
Wen Jiabao gave his final speech before the National People’s Congress on Tuesday among a crowded room of delegates, then bowed three times to the audience and took his leave. At the end of the 12-day session, he, Hu Jintao and other party leaders will step aside as new leadership takes the reins, led by... Read more »
Chinese hackers, possibly using phishing software, reportedly broke into the New York Times's computer network four months ago and installed malware that enabled them to access the personal computers of 53 employees. All indications are that the attack is a response to the paper's investigation, led by Shanghai bureau chief David Barboza, into premier Wen Jiabao's family fortunes. The NY Times says its computers were compromised as far back as September 13, just as they were wrapping up reporting for the Wen piece, which was published on October 25.
We — you, me, the world — might see outgoing president Hu Jintao as a wan robot less charismatic than a cardboard box, but there was a time during this man’s life when he was sprightly, good-humored, and jovial. Let this video — of a speech he gave in 1984, in front of colorful balloons —... Read more »
They're already blocked, so fuck it, right? The New York Times has continued to delve into Wen Jiabao's "hidden family fortunes," following up on its original blockbuster that got the website blocked on the mainland. In "Lobbying, a Windfall and a Leader’s Family," David Barbosa and co. report that Wen Jiabao was directly responsible for keeping the company from breaking up. In 1999...
The lawyers for the Wen Jiabao family issued an official statement yesterday regarding the New York Times's recent piece that got the website harmonized inside China. It's "a rare instance of a powerful Chinese political family responding directly to a foreign media report," NY Times reports. But the lawyers, while trying to deny everything, actually deny nothing. Read the translated statement closely, as brought to you by SCMP:
On what day will the NY Times homepage be unblocked in China? Please submit your answer either in the comment section or via email. You can also tweet at us. We will try our best to send a prize to the person who nails the correct date.
While everyone else was talking about Ai Weiwei, the New York Times had the temerity to publish an explosive report about Premier Wen Jiabao, probably the most popular and ostensibly clean politician in China. Grandpa Wen, as he's affectionately called, has apparently made a lot of money for his family, but that should come as no surprise to anyone. But the Times is currently in Chinese Internet purgatory because it painstakingly detailed exactly how much money: "A review of corporate and regulatory records indicates that the prime minister’s relatives, some of whom have a knack for aggressive deal-making, including his wife, have controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion." And it's $2.7 billion that Wen's family has taken pains to not disclose.
