In the 1910s, when China was under the repressive rule of warlords, freedom of speech was suppressed and newspapers were under strict censorship. Shao, against all odds, insisted on reporting political and military news on Shenbao while most journalists were confined in the scope of reporting news on non-political and non-military issues. Even though the government was offended from time to time by Shao's daring practice, he managed to reveal the down-to-earth truth to the public with the help of his keen social skills and wide interpersonal network with the officials.