Maintenance of Public Figure's Reputation: Q&A

What is a "public figure"?

It is generally accepted that the first explicit use of the term "public figure" in Chinese court documents was in a case heard by the Shanghai Jing'an District Court, in which Fan Zhiyi sued Wenhui Xinmin United Press Group for infringement of the right of reputation (defamation). The court held that it was not inappropriate for the defendant to act as a news medium by investigating the focus of universal attention and exercising its right of news coverage and its "watchdog" functions for the purpose of providing clarification to the public. Even if the plaintiff alleged that the media's direct mention of his name in a report about his involvement in sports gambling damaged his reputation, as a public figure, the plaintiff must tolerate and understand the potential minor damage created in the process of the media's performance of its appropriate watchdog functions.