CLBR Segment 1: Meet the No. Carolinian Whose Blog is one of the Most Read/Feared in China

THE MOST TALKED ABOUT BLOG IN CHINA

IS. . . IN NORTH CAROLINA

MEET WATSON MENG, PUBLISHER OF BOXUN.COM

Meng was born and raised in Hebei, China. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Hebei Institute of Technology and a master’s degree from Nankai University, both in Tianjin. He also received a master’s degree from Duke University in Durham, NC. He left China in 1996 and began his career in journalism in 1998, when he created an independent Chinese news list service while living in New York. In 2000, he founded Boxun News, the first Chinese news service in the model of citizen journalism. Accessing otherwise censored stories, Boxun’s reports are frequently quoted by Radio Free Asia, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters without Borders, and Voice of America. Meng is now based in Durham, NC.

About Boxun

Boxun News (peacehall.com and boxun.com) was launched in March 2000 from its origin as a weekly online magazine. From the beginning Boxun has been using the model of “Citizen Journalism” and now Boxun is the most popular citizen journalist Chinese online news service. Boxun’s traffic is ranked with the top Chinese online news sites. It’s operational model makes Boxun the only online Chinese news service which is updated 24/7.

Boxun Read By All Top Level Officials

From Financial Times

Chinese censors hamstrung by US site

Boxun received a lot of attention in February last year when it published anonymous appeals for a “Jasmine revolution” in China – at the same time as the Arab spring was unfolding in north Africa and the Middle East – triggering a crackdown in which many critics of the Communist party were jailed.

In recent weeks, however, Boxun has become one of the must-read Chinese language websites for people following the downfall of Mr Bo, who until his purge was competing to become one of the nine members of the Politburo standing committee, the most powerful political body in China. The Chinese government has also arrested Mr Bo’s wife on suspicion of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood.

From Business Insider

Meet The Man Revealing The Huge Scandals That The Chinese Government Doesn’t Want You To Know

The site has long been one of the must-read overseas sites for the Chinese, but the frequently accurate information it has broken about the Bo Xilai case (most notably the stripping of party rank on April 10) has given it new-found attention. One Beijing-based expert told the WSJ yesterday that “all the high-level officials read” Boxun, and the sites traffic has jumped 160% over the last three months.

That attention may not all be good. The site has been hit by numerous hacking attacks in recent years, including one last week that forced the site to change webhosts. The former webhost told the AP that the DDOS attack was the biggest they had ever seen.

Crouching Tiger Actress Sues Boxun 

Actress Zhang Ziyi sues Boxun for libel for a story claiming the actress received millions for having sex with top Communist Party officials.  The suit, ironically, comes as the actress is promoting a remake of Dangerous Liaisons.

From Want China Times

Dangerous Liaisons: Zhang Ziyi sues Boxun in California

Boxun believes the lawsuit demonstrates a political motive. In response to the allegations against Zhang, the site maintained that it had at least two channels verifying the reports and that the rumors had already been widely spread in “some circles.” The website claimed it has no ulterior motive and no interest in Zhang’s private life, and only published the reports because it had “a responsibility to society” to uncover the corruption involved in the case.

In an act of defiance, Boxun said its editors have no doubts about the truth of the story and that more sources had come forward to provide details of Zhang’s dealings with Chinese politicians and businessmen after she threatened to sue. Boxun said that if the case goes to trial, it will put each of these allegations to Zhang in court.

“Boxun has always believed that creating rumors is most damaging to the media,” the article said, adding that it has no motive to manufacture rumors against any person or group.

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Zhang Complaint  Boxun has moved to strike the complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP law.  Boxun in represented by CLBR alum Mark Randazza.