As a liberal myself, I am disgusted with Chinese journalists and online commenters. The government has lost much credibility with the public due to corruption and dramatic and one-sided reporting from the media. At the same time, the public has been fooled by fake and dramatic news for too long and now have no confidence in the media. The whole society trusts nobody.
One example is the conflict between hospitals and patients. The media has always sided with the patients in any hospital related incidents, plus, use sensational heaings! Doctors have been repeatedly abused by the patients, even killed. Well it turned out that some patients are actually connected with organized groups that extort money from hospitals, etc, etc.
Of course, essentially, this nightmare is due to China's lack of rule of law after it discarded Confucius values during cultural revolution and now communist values. China has always been governed by Confucius values to cultivate oneself, instead of relying on laws, ever since Confucius school won out among the hundred schools, including Legalism school, during Spring and Autumn period, and sanctified in Han Dynasty. A country with long tradition on self discipline and Confucius values cannot suddenly embrace rule of law, esp. when Legalism school was associated with Qin, the brutal first dynasty.
It's really a mess now.