{"id":6532,"date":"2010-12-21T13:57:17","date_gmt":"2010-12-21T05:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danwei.webfactional.com\/?p=6532"},"modified":"2010-12-21T13:57:17","modified_gmt":"2010-12-21T05:57:17","slug":"sting_operation_nabs_a_lit_mag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laodanwei.org\/wp\/magazines\/sting_operation_nabs_a_lit_mag.php","title":{"rendered":"Sting operation nabs a lit mag vendor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"JDM101221xshybs.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n
Fiction Monthly<\/i>, December 2010<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fiction Monthly<\/i> (\u5c0f\u8bf4\u6708\u62a5), a low-cost digest magazine published out of Tianjin, is one of the most popular magazines by volume in China. It is widely available at newsstands everywhere in the country \u2013 everywhere but Beijing, that is.<\/p>\n

Sina microblogger kigg<\/a> posted an update last night describing a sting operation against one newsstand selling the magazine:<\/p>\n

\n

Buying a magazine at a newsstand, I noticed that the woman tending the stand was crying. I asked why, and learned that a few nights ago a middle-school student had come looking to buy Fiction Monthly<\/i>. The woman thought it wasn\u2019t a problem and sold it to him. Today, the student returned to the stand leading a Cultural Market Enforcement Team, which fined her 5,000. The student was used by the team for its fishing expedition, because Fiction Monthly<\/i> is not allowed to be sold at newsstands. To make 2 yuan the woman had lost 5,000. Students as bait: who knows how long this situation will continue?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Commenters mentioned that they\u2019d encountered resistance from wary news kiosk managers when trying to purchase magazines like Phoenix Weekly<\/i> that are distributed through specialized channels. Late last year, the Beijing Youth Daily<\/i> discovered that the city\u2019s newsstands had a list of several dozen titles they were prohibited from selling:<\/p>\n

\n

This reporter visited ten newsstands in places such as Xidan, Gongzhufen, Yaojiayuan, and Renmin University. Proprietors of newsstands bearing the sign \u201cSHOUYOU BAOKAN\u201d (\u9996\u90ae\u62a5\u520a, Capital Post Newsstand) all said that they did not sell Fiction Monthly<\/i>, because \u201cWe\u2019re not allowed to,\u201d or \u201cThe post office doesn\u2019t supply it.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a Capital Post Newsstand near Xidan, a proprietor said, \u201cThe post office doesn\u2019t let us sell it. If they find a copy, it\u2019s a 500-yuan fine!\u201d She said that the rule had been in effect for months. \u201cIf you\u2019re not a known customer, you can\u2019t buy it anywhere. The post office frequently dispatches people in the guise of customers to make purchases, and if they find out that a newsstand is selling it, they\u2019ll fine them on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a Capital Post Newsstand near the Third Ring Road, a proprietor pulled out a photocopied list of 43 magazine and newspaper titles: \u201cAll of the newspapers and magazines on this list \u2013 the post office won\u2019t let us sell them. I can get a secret supply from other channels, but if they find out, they\u2019ll fine me. The fine can be from 500 to 1,000 yuan.\u201d The list included Fiction Monthly<\/i> and Bosom Friend: Girl<\/i> (\u77e5\u97f3\u5973\u5b69).<\/p>\n

However, at a newsstand on the Renmin University campus, Fiction Monthly<\/i> had been placed in an eye-catching position. The proprietor said, \u201cThis isn\u2019t a post office newsstand. Our periodicals are supplied by another distributor. We don\u2019t go through the post office\u2019s system.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Beijing Periodicals Retail Company (\u5317\u4eac\u5e02\u62a5\u520a\u96f6\u552e\u516c\u53f8) controls all legitimate newsstands in the city. Other companies handle distribution in shopping centers, train stations, subway stations, and the airport. Ma Zhipeng, head of Fiction Monthly<\/i>\u2019s circulation department, told Beijing Youth Daily<\/i> that the ban was imposed after a contract dispute with the distributor:<\/p>\n

\n

In 2006, the magazine had to renew its circulation and sales contracts with Beijing Periodicals Retail Company. The distributor demanded the exclusive distribution rights for Beijing and added a supplemental clause: If it discovered Fiction Monthly<\/i> being supplied for sale in the Beijing market through any other channels, the company would levy a fine on the magazine.<\/p>\n

Ma said, \u201cThis was a condition that we could not accept, and our negotiations had no results.\u201d Beginning in 2007, Fiction Monthly<\/i> was barred from sale at some of the city\u2019s Capital Post newsstands.<\/p>\n

Director Zhao of the Beijing Periodicals Retail Company\u2019s marketing department said that the company was responsible for the operation and management of all Capital Post newsstands in Beijing. All items sold in newsstands were supplied by the company, so naturally they could not sell items that the company did not supply. \u201cAs for the fine publications that are temporarily not being supplied, we have continually been engaged in active negotiations with the publishers, including Fiction Monthly<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Evidently, negotiations have made little progress over the past year.<\/p>\n

Links and Sources<\/div>\n
\n