New York, July 30, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disappointed by the International Olympic Committee’s admission that China would not provide open Internet access at the Main Press Center in Beijing despite earlier assurances to the contrary. Kevan Gosper, chairman of the IOC’s press commission, said today that the organization had entered into…
A report on human rights violations in China is being ignored in the government-controlled media. Human rights organization Amnesty International reported that China has failed to keep Olympic-related promises regarding the treatment of its citizens. The report highlights China’s high number of death penalty cases. Neither central nor provincial media cover the report today. But a handful of bloggers do.…
New York, July 29, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Afghan television reporter Mohammad Nasir Fayyaz was detained one day after his television station aired a documentary that was critical of some cabinet members and their ministries. The program was cut short while being broadcast, apparently at the demand of the…
New York, July 29, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the International Olympic Committee to investigate reports that Internet connections within the Games’ Main Press Center, at the heart of the Olympics facilities in Beijing, have been censored and access to some Web sites has been restricted. Reuters and other news agencies reported that…
We begin our Olympic coverage today with the first installment of CPJ’s Chinese Media Watch. CPJ consultant Kristin Jones will analyze news coverage in China each weekday until the Games conclude. Jones will assess the level to which the Chinese media are able to freely report the news, and the amount of government censorship being…
Local Chinese journalists beat central government media to the scene of another bus explosion in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming. Today’s explosion followed bus bomb blasts that killed two people in Kunming last week. Expect the official Xinhua News Agency to take over from here. Chinese officials have played down claims of responsibility for…
New York, July 23, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the recentarrest and criminal defamation charges filed by the Malaysian government against prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, editor and founder of the Malaysia Today news Web site. Raja Petra was arrested and charged on July 17 at police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and later…
Dear Secretary-General Pitsuwan: We are writing to express our concern that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has neglected to include recommendations for more press freedom and media access as one of the guiding principles for relief and recovery efforts following natural disasters.
New York, July 22, 2008–Chinese police arrested prominent dissident and Internet writer Du Daobin on Monday, according to his defense lawyer, Mo Shaoping. CPJ is concerned that the arrest is part of the government’s ongoing campaign to suppress criticism prior to the Olympic Games. Du had been sentenced to a three-year suspended prison sentence in…
Mr. Prime Minister: We are deeply concerned about the safety of the staff of the Urdu-language Daily Aaj Kal newspaper. According to Najam Sethi, the paper’s editor-in-chief, clerics at the Lal Masjid mosque in Islamabad have repeatedly issued inflammatory statements aimed at the newspaper and its staff. The accusations leave them vulnerable to attack by militant groups at a time when civil violence is on the rise.