Liang Xinsheng and Zhao Xinwei expressed opinions that broke with the party line and so were removed from their positions. The party’s new discipline guidelines are stricter than those they replaced. Analysts worry that the new rules punish people “for expressing their opinions” like during the Cultural Revolution.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – Lingnan Normal University in Zhanjiang, in the rich southern province of Guangdong, removed an English language professor for publishing "radical opinions" on his Weibo account that had "bad social influence", the provincial anti-graft watchdog said on Wednesday, citing new strict discipline guidelines issued by China’s Communist Party. For experts, this represents a blow to freedom of expression in China.

Liang Xinsheng was removed from his post as deputy head of the English department at Lingnan Normal University but he remains a professor, but it is unclear whether at the same university or elsewhere.

Although his posts were made between 2012 and 2014 and taken down, the authorities did not specify what they said.

The announcement of Liang's punishment comes just days after Zhao Xinwei, the former editor-in-chief of Xinjiang Daily, was expelled from the party over allegations that he openly "made improper remarks" on key policies, namely about the way the party was run in Xinjiang, one of China’s most restive provinces because of clashes with its indigenous Uighur population.

"It is a 'pocket crime' that can be imposed on anyone who dares to express different opinions," said Zhang Ming, an analyst with Beijing's Renmin University.

"It is not new in the history of the party that people have been punished for expressing their opinions. Before and during the Cultural Revolution there were also people arrested for criticising the government."

For Gu Su, a political philosophy professor with Nanjing University, the punishments shows that control over party members was getting stricter.

• china
• censorship
• crackdown
• guangdong