Southern Metropolis Daily, China's Liberal Newspaper

Southern Metropolis Daily, mainly distributed in the Pearl River Delta area, is one of the more liberal newspapers in China. As I mentioned before, it was this newspaper that first published the Tianamen cartoon that so annoyed the Chinese government. But that was not the first time that Southern Metropolis Daily has been a thorn in the government's side. Their journalists have been ferreting out and exposing government mishaps that the government would have preferred be kept secret. It is truly a unique newspaper in that it still exists even when its ideals are so opposite from the government's. In the U.S., freedom of speech is something exercised everyday; we, newspapers, and journalists are free to expose and criticize the government whenever we want. But in China, that is a criminal offense. As you can imagine, many of Southern Metropolis Daily's journalists are now behind bars, mostly due to trumped-up charges the government invented to get this newspaper under control. This news company dances skillfully on the legal line regarding freedom of speech in China.
Its controversial ideas are what gets Southern Metropolis Daily its readers, but the newspaper is recognized for its liberal side even outside of China. Once, when Obama was visiting China, he requested to go meet with the heads of Southern Metropolis Daily. Predictably, the Chinese government denied his request. They obviously didn't want two of the most liberal groups in their territory conspiring together.