China dismisses NYT's Pulitzer-winning report on Wen

Foreign ministry claims reporter had ulterior motives

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David Barboza of The New York Times is congratulated by colleagues in New York on Monday. Photo: NYT

Published: 4:58pm, 16 Apr 2013Updated: 1:00am, 17 Apr 2013

China dismissed a New York Times report that exposed the wealth amassed by the family of former Premier Wen Jiabao as having “ulterior motives” on Tuesday, after it won a Pulitzer Prize.

The story, which was published in October last year, alleged close relatives of Wen have made billions of dollars in business dealings.

It provoked anger from authorities in China, who said it was part of a “smear” by “voices” opposed to the country’s development. The Times’ Chinese and English websites were subsequently blocked in China and remain inaccessible.

“Our position towards this issue is very clear. We believe the relevant report by the New York Times reporter is with ulterior motives,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday.

The Time’s Shanghai bureau chief David Barboza, who wrote the story, told AFP that he was “honoured” after the report won the award for international reporting.

The Pulitzer jury on Monday called it a “striking exposure”.

The newspaper won four awards in the 97th annual Pulitzer Prizes, awarded by Columbia University in New York. The most prestigious prizes in US journalism, the awards can bring badly needed attention to newspapers and websites competing for readers in a fragmented media industry, where many are suffering from budget constraints.