Check out the saga of Nick Young, an Englishman who published something called The China Development Brief until the Chinese government made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. . . And he did.

This chilling message – and it is a direct quote – was delivered to me in Beijing this summer by an apparently high-ranking Chinese security official who would tell me only his surname: Song. He was, he said, “in charge of watching terrorism and NGOs,” and he was offering me a real, not theoretical, choice. I could become an elite propagandist for China, or I would have to leave the country, where I had lived continuously for 12 years, and would never be allowed back.

On Sept. 26, after spending several weeks in Europe, I returned to Beijing and found that Mr. Song had spoken in earnest. Immigration authorities barred my entry, put me back on the plane to Helsinki, Finland, and canceled my multientry visa.

What was the “deal” that Song offered Young?

Song said he could provide funds to expand our publishing and make it “famous” while helping the world to understand China better. In return, I would have to report directly to him. But, he warned, I should never tell anyone of this conversation, not even my wife. And if I rejected the deal I would be permanently barred.

Via Danwei