Shi Liangcai

"[5] When he took over Shen Bao in 1912, he furthered its liberal orientation; he also began a career as a press magnate, and from 1927, he bought up most of the stock of Shishi and Xinwen newspapers.

[6] "In the 1930s, Shi was a strong supporter of the Human Rights Defence Alliance established by Madam Soong Qing Ling, the second wife of revolutionary leader Dr Sun Yat-sen, with Cai Yuanpei and Lu Xun.

"[10] His opposition to power had fatal consequences:Shi Liangcai incurred Chiang's wrath for his newspaper's vociferous condemnation of the government's assassination of Yang Xingfo, for his vigorous public support for strong resistance against Japanese aggression, and for his spirited opposition to the crackdown on students and universities orchestrated by Minister of Education Zhu Jiahua.

The conjunction of all three causes, and especially Shen Bao's dramatic analytical linkage of internal persecution of liberal human rights proponents to external appeasement of the Japanese, constituted a direct provocation to Chiang Kai-shek.

Sometime in the fall or early winter of 1933, consequently, Chiang commanded Dai Li to prepare to assassinate Shi, who was then serving in one of the most prominent public positions in Shanghai as head of the Chinese Municipal Council.