Former magazine chief editor loses WWII-heros slander case

A Beijing court on Monday ruled against an influential magazine's former chief editor who called into question facts surrounding a famous group of Chinese war heros.

Hong Zhenkuai, former executive editor in chief of the Beijing-based magazine "Yanhuang Chunqiu," was found to have tarnished the reputation and honor of "The Five Warriors of Mount Langyashan," who jumped off a cliff when fighting against Japanese invaders during World War II.

Hong was ordered to apologize to the plaintiffs, Ge Changsheng and Song Fubao, who are the sons of two of the men. The apology, which must be a public notice run by media outlets, should be issued within three days, according to the verdict.

Hong was found to have presented "ambiguous speculation, groundless doubts or even conclusion" in an attempt to deny the authenticity of the five soldiers' stories in two articles, which went viral on the Internet and misled readers, the court said in a statement.

The articles not only contained content that harmed the plaintiff's feelings but also the public's sense of national identity, it added.

"Free speech is not without boundaries, and it should be protected on the premise that it does not infringe on other people's legal rights," said one of the leading judges. Endi