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Peking University professor Xu Dianqing has apologized to citizens of Shenzhen for his prediction that real estate prices would rise in the past year. A year ago on July 11, while attending a business forum in the southern Chinese city, he claimed that housing prices there would be higher than a year later. If it turned out to be the opposite, he would take out a one-page ad in a local paper to apologize. Judging from online surveys, most people did not have much sympathy for him. Rather, the turn of events proved to be another nail in the coffin for the independence of China's pundits. Business commentators in this country have long been accused of secretly aligning with business interests. They talk up prices, especially housing prices. They talk down to consumers who look up to them for a golden nugget of wisdom in a murky world of instant changes. A few years ago, a Hong Kong scholar said that there were no more than "five" qualified economists on the mainland. You may dispute the exact number, but it is clear that many, if not most, of our talking heads in professional spheres do not have - or do not cherish - independence. And I think I know why. There are so many forces out to corrupt an independent mind it is a wonder we still have a few voices left that are relatively untainted. By chance, I am something of a film critic on the side. I started by reviewing Hollywood movies and published them on the Internet. For the first two years, I wrote what I wanted. | 
