Wu Xianghu

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In President Hu Jintao's fourth year in power, his administration effectively silenced some of the best journalists in China by sidelining independent-minded editors, jailing online critics, and moving to restrict coverage of breaking news. The government drew international criticism for its actions against foreign news agencies and their employees--including convictions of Zhao Yan, a New York Times researcher, and Ching Cheong, a correspondent for the Singapore-based Straits Times--along with new rules appointing the official Xinhua News Agency as sole distributor of foreign news services in the country.

New York, January 16, 2007—Unidentified men at an illegal coal mine in Huiyuan County, Shanxi Province, severely beat reporter Lan Chengzhang on January 9, leading to his death the following day, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating to determine whether Lan’s death was connected to his journalism, and it called on authorities to bring the killers to justice.

“We’re appalled at the brutal killing of reporter Lan Chengzhang and call on national authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into his death,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Violence against journalists is on the rise in China, and it will continue to put the press in danger unless authorities at the national level make a real effort to investigate these cases and punish those responsible.”

New York, July 25, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Chinese authorities to fully investigate the death of a newspaper editor who was beaten by a uniformed policeman in public, the second journalist to die at the hands of police in less than a year.

Authorities in the southwest province of Guizhou have arrested an officer in connection with the death of Anshun Daily editor Xiao Guopeng, 39, according to state media and international news reports. CPJ is determining whether Xiao was killed for his journalistic work.

New York, May 11, 2006—With the 2008 Olympic Games just two years away, the Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned about the Chinese government’s continuing crackdown on the media. China’s policies of the past three years show a disturbing trend that seems certain to affect journalists reporting from Beijing in 2008. CPJ calls on the Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee to address the issue on Tuesday, when the IOC’s coordination commission arrives in Beijing to assess the city’s preparations to host the 2008 Games.

\New York, February 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death of colleague Wu Xianghu, deputy editor of Taizhou Wanbao. Wu died on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries in October 2005 when traffic police in the eastern coastal city of Taizhou, Zhejiang province, attacked him for an expose that embarrassed them, according to international news reports.

Wu, 41, died of liver and kidney failure after months of hospitalization. State-run Xinhua News Agency reported in October that the police assault had damaged his liver, which was already compromised due to a previously existing medical condition.