Owing to his liberal political stance, criticism of Chan by media controlled by the Communist Party of China was stepped up as soon as his candidacy for the post became known. He was derided in "Ta Kung Pao" and "Wen Wei Po", which together published more than 350 articles attacking him and accusing him of "meddling in politics" for his involvement with pro-democratic figures including his former subordinate Benny Tai. Communist Party-controlled newspaper "Global Times" also bashed Chan, calling him a "ringleader" of the 2014 pro-democratic protests. Chan's treatment in Beijing-controlled media has been described as a smear campaign and character assassination.