LAT: Talk-Show King Is Yanked From Chinese Airwaves

[DeepModem Mom]

Talk-Show King Is Yanked From Chinese Airwaves
The Taiwan-born TV commentator railed against corporate corruption and other problems he saw in market reforms.
By Don Lee, Times Staff Writer
March 15, 2006


SHANGHAI — For two years, Larry Lang relished his role as China's business talk-show king.

On Friday night television, the Taiwan-born host of "Larry Lang Live" railed against corporate corruption and other ills of China's market reforms. The clean-cut, telegenic finance professor boiled economics down to ordinary chatter and he struck a nerve with folks disenchanted with the sagging stock market and widening income disparity.

But this month, Chinese officials pulled the plug on his program — the latest move by Beijing to censor influential critics of its policies and to control information disseminated to the public. In the last year, the government has jailed journalists, banned dozens of newspapers and restricted searches on the Internet.

Online, many Chinese quickly voiced support for Lang, whose writings and opinions are widely available on the Web....

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Mainland Chinese and foreign economists in China regarded the Wharton-educated Lang as a free-thinking, fast-talking commentator, yet his views were caustic and considered one-sided....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-chinatalk15mar15,0,5831873.story?coll=la-home-world

[Teaser]

1. "Larry Lang Live?"

April fools come early this year? OR is this real?

[goclark]

2. Insert the word WH for Beijing

"the latest move by Beijing to censor influential critics of its policies and to control information disseminated to the public. In the last year, the government has jailed journalists, banned dozens of newspapers and restricted searches on the Internet."