China heavily censors any material that is deemed disparaging of its policies or leaders.
BEIJING: A reprint of a book attributing the end of the Ming dynasty 400 years ago to the ineptitude of a Chinese emperor was pulled from shelves last week, in an apparent purge of a title that had drawn now censored online comparisons with President Xi Jinping.
Reuters could not immediately verify the notice, and the publisher did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The censorship was likely because of online parallels drawn between the ailing Chongzhen’s rule and perceived governance mistakes by Xi, from last year’s strict zero-Covid lockdowns and protests to the current economic slowdown, said Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor of Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.