Caijing magazine is one of China’s better investigative periodicals. The publication’s muckraking articles have won it praise as well as unwelcome attention from those who prefer their muck unraked. The October 20, 2003 issue (cover pictured below) features an article about China’s ‘future economic leaders’ and an investigation into Indonesian paper company APP’s operations on Hainan island.
Caijing’s website is here, the small English section of their website is here and an application form for native English speaker interns is here.
Below is a brief editorial note from Caijing’s website:
In this issue’s editorial, Caijing’s Managing Editor Hu Shuli talks about the recent steps the central government has taken to ensure that China moves towards a “good” market economy and avoids falling into a quagmire of “nepotism capitalism”. The goal of a market system based on “orderly competition”, adopted during this most recent Third Plenary Session, emphasizes the role of the government as a watchdog over the market.
The investigation of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) investments in Hainan, (this issue’s cover story not available in the English Newsletter, unfortunately) provides an example of the need for a good watchdog. APP, an Indonesian company that has contributed greatly to the destruction of ancient forests in its home country, has announced huge investments on the Chinese mainland, on Hainan Island and in other provinces. But behind these huge investments is a huge burden of debt, and that’s only the beginning of the suspicious things about this company.
As a magazine doing investigative reporting, Caijing plays an important role in shedding light on situations that are corrupt, unfair, or not transparent. It is my hope that investigations like this one into APP will help in bringing about “orderly competition”.