CAMBRIDGE, England -- Last week, Willy Wo-Lap Lam lost his job as the China correspondent on the South China Morning Post. That technically he resigned rather than be "promoted" to a non-China-related job is irrelevant, as it was clear that he was not going to be allowed to continue writing his weekly opinion piece about developments in China.
Whatever the editors say, this can be seen as another step in the loss of independence of Hong Kong. Willy was a thorn in the side of mainland politicians. His acerbic, questioning columns were always well, if usually anonymously, sourced. His connections are apparently at the highest levels. Whenever a significant high-level meeting in China takes place, Willy seems to know what has been said almost as soon as the meeting ends. In his articles, he has demonstrated a well-targeted cynicism about the actions and motives of party leaders and government officials that has clearly gotten under their skin. Of course, the editor of the South China Morning Post denied that any pressure was put on him to remove Willy from his post, but he would, wouldn't he?
Pressure takes many forms, and while I am sure the editor did not get a phone call from Zhonganhai (home of China's party leaders), I am equally sure that the people there found a way of letting him know their views. As Willy's articles were the most widely read reports on current political developments in China, the China-watching world has lost one of its main windows onto that murky space.