Veteran investigative journalist Wang Keqin left his job at a prominent Chinese newspaper on February 25, 2013. An Agence France-Presse report citing two journalists who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal said that Wang was pressured into leaving by management at the Economic Observer.
Wang, an investigative reporter for the Economic Observer, a weekly known for being relatively outspoken, packed up his desk and left the office on February 27, 2013, AFP said. He confirmed his exit in a post on his account on Sina Weibo, a social media site similar to Twitter. He did not offer further details.
Over the past decade, Keqin’s investigative reports made him well known across the country. In 2011, CPJ reported on the shutdown of Wang’s investigative reporting unit at the Economic Times following a series of critical reports, including a 2010 exposé about the mishandling of tainted vaccines in Shanxi province.
In 2012, authorities removed top executives at two outspoken domestic papers, Guangzhou’s New Express and Shanghai’s Oriental Morning Post.