Southern Weekly "back to normal"

The new year’s second issue of Southern Weekly hit stands Thursday, signaling an end to a clamorous censorship dispute between officials and journalists in Guangdong province. A verbal agreement between provincial authorities and the newspaper meant production was “back to normal,” according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited a Southern Weekly editor. In exchange for printing, propaganda authorities agreed not interfere with the paper’s content or punish the journalists. The controversy began last week when a propaganda official rewrote Southern Weekly’s New Year’s message. Since then, other publications have become embroiled in the dispute. The editor at Beijing News reportedly resigned this week after officials forced the paper to publish a criticism of Southern Weekly. The website of Yanhuang Chunqiu was shut down last week after it advocated for rule of law, the original theme of Southern Weekly’s New Year’s message.