Controversial chief of sci-fi magazine suspended

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-01 21:26

CHENGDU - The president and chief editor of China's biggest-selling science fiction journal, Science Fiction World (SFW), was suspended Thursday, 10 days after editors published an open letter claiming he was incompetent and demanding his removal.

Li Chang, 53, was suspended pending an investigation into his activities, said Li Dayong, an official of the Communist Party of China branch at the monthly magazine's publisher, the Sichuan Association for Science and Technology (SAST).

Li Dayong announced the decision at a morning meeting of the magazine's senior editors at its offices in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, Thursday.

Li Chang said at the meeting that he would cooperate with the investigation, said an editor who declined to be identified.

Li Chang hung up when a Xinhua reporter called him for an interview and later calls to his phone went unanswered.

Sci-fi writers and fans said online that they would monitor developments.

"It is a step forward. We are waiting for a final result," said Wu Yan, a leading science fiction writer and critic.

"The SFW has a leading position in Chinese science fiction. We hope that it can continue to be the base of Chinese sci-fi, under the leadership of a professional chief editor," Wu said.

Li Chang was appointed SFW's president and chief editor by the SAST, an organization of scientists and technicians under the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The editors published an open letter on douban.com on March 21, describing Li Chang as "unprofessional" and his instructions as "arbitrary and impracticable."

The letter was signed "All the editors of Science Fiction World" and was published under the ID, "Rise to Fight."

It said Li had "whimsical new ideas -- ordering his Chinese literature editors to write novels themselves instead of writers, foreign language editors to translate novels themselves instead of specialist translators, and art editors to draw pictures themselves instead of artists, which shows he has no idea how to run a magazine."

SFW had a circulation of 150,000 copies a month when Li took over at the beginning of 2009, but the latest figures showed the figure has fallen to 130,000, said a senior editor of the magazine.

The editors had submitted reports to higher administrative departments, requesting Li's removal and the appointment of a leader qualified to save the magazine.

Big-name sci-fi writers and ordinary fans are backing the editors. Commentators have called Li's presidency an abuse of power in the publication sector, and say the letter reflects the will of the editors to run a normal magazine in a favorable environment where their rights and thoughts are respected.

Science Fiction World was established in 1979 to accompany a government campaign to promote science and technology during the reform and opening up drive initiated by Deng Xiaoping.

The magazine hosted the Annual Conference of the World Science Fiction Association in 1991 and two international sci-fi conferences in 1997 and 2007.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-04/01/content_9677847.htm