Chinese citizens were last year treated to an unaccustomed number of hard-hitting exposes and investigations detailing the private lives and corrupt financial dealings of the most senior Communist Party officials and their family members.
Most of the reports have come from what one local media expert called "the two Ws," meaning Western media and weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.
So far, Beijing's response to this growing onslaught of negative publicity has been scattered and sometimes surprisingly restrained. The reaction reflects what many analysts have called Chinese authorities' more sophisticated strategy for handling adverse publicity, and a recognition that any overreaction might simply draw new and unwanted attention.
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