Analyses and data track press conditions throughout the region. Bob Dietz describes efforts by Pakastani journalists to address widespread violence. Shawn Crispin details the faltering prosecution in the Maguindanao massacre. Madeline Earp examines the future of information control in China, and Monica Campbell recounts the plight of Afghan reporters for international media.
Asia
Pakistani reporter Umar Cheema speaks out on the climate of impunity that led to his being abducted and brutally assaulted for his work. [View a larger version of the video here.]
As journalists continue to be targeted, the government of Asif Ali Zardari has shown itself unable and unwilling to stand up for a free press. Whatever solutions exist will have to be found by people in the profession.
Internet users posed ever-bigger challenges to Beijing’s media controls, boosting debate on public safety and censorship. But ahead of a 2012 leadership transition, the Chinese Communist Party looks likely to fiercely suppress dissent.
International news media rely heavily on Afghan colleagues to cover the war. While Afghans often do the same work as their international counterparts, they run greater risk and face a far more uncertain future.
5 Journalistic bloggers jailed in 2011. Four others were imprisoned earlier.
Country reports in this chapter were written and researched by CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Bob Dietz, Senior Research Associate Madeline Earp, and Bangkok-based Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn W. Crispin.
