China newspaper negotiates with govt amid protests

BEIJING (AP) - Editors of a Chinese newspaper known for bold reporting are meeting propaganda officials on Tuesday to find a way out of a censorship dispute that has triggered protests and evolved into a political challenge for China's new leadership.

What started out as a confrontation by Southern Weekly journalists with a top censor over a New Year's editorial has rapidly become a focal point driving public calls for the authoritarian Communist Party government to loosen its grip on information.

The dispute centres on how the editorial, originally calling for political reform, was transformed into a tribute praising the Communist Party. Scholars have signed open letters calling for the censor's dismissal, celebrities are speaking out for the paper on microblogs and hundreds of people gathered for a second day outside the publication's office bearing flowers and signs in support.

On Tuesday, the paper's editorial committee is to hold a fourth round of negotiations with its top management, which is part of the provincial propaganda office, according to a Southern Weekly editor. The editor spoke on condition of anonymity because of an internal directive not to talk to the foreign media.