Boxun () is an aggregation website and blog, which focuses on alleged political scandals in China. Boxun is partly backed by the China Free Press project, which is partially funded by the

National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization in the United States founded in 1983 with the stated aim of advancing democracy worldwide and counter communism, communist influence abroad, by prom ...

, a US-funded organization.

Founding and purpose

Boxun allows anyone to submit news to the website, which has resulted in a large number of articles remaining anonymous. Boxun was created by Meicun "Watson" Meng, who studied in the United States after working for two multinational companies in China. The Boxun servers are run from an office in North Carolina since 2000.

Critics

While the organization claims it is independently run and audited, critics – including German leftist magazine konkret – have suggested that it is simply a tool of U.S. foreign policy. Boxun.com is blocked in mainland China.

Defamation case

In 2012, Boxun falsely reported that actress

Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi (; ; born 9 February 1979), sometimes credited Ziyi Zhang, is a Chinese actress, known for playing independent and strong-willed characters. Born and raised in Beijing, Zhang was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama in 1996. Th ...

was paid $100 million to sleep with top Chinese officials. Zhang sued Boxun in a US court for defamation. In December 2013, Boxun settled the case after agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount to Zhang and issue a front-page apology.

References

{{reflist American news websites