Li Bingbing and Yao Chen on the "Southern Weekend" censorship controversy

Things seem to be heating up in Guangzhou around heavy handed local government meddling in the editorial policies of "Southern Weekend" as pickets, demonstrations and a possible strike at the paper show that the journalists have support in the community. Among those who have made their voices heard are Li Bingbing and Yao Chen, with 50 million weibo followers between them. Yao quoted Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: "One word of truth outweighs the whole world", while Li was poetic with "Hoping for a spring in this harsh winter."

China Digital Times has a good running compilation of the dispute.

Not Li Bingbing:

Li Bingbing:

Not Yao Chen:

Yao Chen:

New York Times; The Guardian