Bezos Makes First Visit to Washington Post as Owner

Jeffrey P. Bezos, the new owner of The Washington Post, kicked off a packed, two-day visit to the paper on Tuesday, his first since purchasing the newspaper for $250 million on Aug. 5. Mr. Bezos was meeting with managers on the editorial and business sides, according to people with knowledge of his schedule, at times chaperoned by Katharine Weymouth, the publisher and a member of the Graham family from whom Mr. Bezos bought the paper.

On Wednesday, he is expected to meet with reporters, hold a noon lunch with editors, tour the Post’s printing plant in Springfield, Va., and answer questions during a meeting with the newsroom staff at 3:30 p.m.

While Mr. Bezos can often be reticent with the press, he gave an interview to The Post that ran on Monday’s front page and said he was ready for The Post to start a new “golden era” under his ownership. Mr. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com who now serves as the company’s chairman and chief executive, bought The Post as a separate investment from Amazon.

But he told The Post that he planned to bring to the newspaper some of the same approaches that had been successful for Amazon.

“We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient,” he said. “If you replace ‘customer’ with ‘reader,’ that approach, that point of view, can be successful at The Post, too.”

Mr. Bezos said he did not expect to be involved with the daily operations of The Post. Instead, he said, he will offer his “point of view” and financial support. “I’ll be there with lots of advice from a distance,” said Mr. Bezos.

Mr. Bezos is expected to close on the deal in October. The Graham family had controlled the paper for about eight decades.

Chinese Cafe Owner Given 8-Year Sentence Over Online Messages

The man, Cao Haibo, 27, of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, was accused of “subversion of state power” for trying to set up the “China Republican Party” — an entity that existed on paper, and only for one day.

His wife, Zhang Nian, 23, said he was sentenced on Wednesday but the court only notified her on Thursday. “It is a very severe punishment and long sentence,” she said, adding that the trial was held in secret.

The sentencing comes a week before a pivotal series of meetings in Beijing during which the party will ratify a new generation of leaders.

Mr. Cao’s lawyer, Ma Xiaopeng, told Reuters his client did not fully understand the risks he was taking when he sent antigovernment messages to his friends last year. “Cao Haibo does not understand politics in China,” Mr. Ma said. “We think he’s an immature child; he really did not know that the party would take it this seriously.”

Ms. Zhang said she and Mr. Cao were married three months before he was arrested last October. They have a 9-month-old child.

Renee Xia, international director of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, criticized the prosecution of Mr. Cao, noting that he was detained for eight months without trial and that even his family was barred from the proceedings. “Cao’s only ‘crime’ was to chat in an online group, where members discussed such ideas as democratic reform and constitutional rights,” she said. “This case is a travesty of justice. It demonstrates, once again, that China shows only disdain for rule of law.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: November 1, 2012

An earlier version of this article misstated the given name of Cao Haibo’s wife. She is Zhang Nian, no Zhang Yan.