Asia

The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 32 organizations in calling on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to use a planned visit to China next year to push for the release of Jimmy Lai, who was convicted in Hong Kong on Monday of national security offenses. Lai, a 78-year-old British citizen and founder of the…

Bangkok, December 16, 2025—Myanmar authorities must immediately and unconditionally release freelance journalist Sut Ring Pan, who is serving a combined 13-year prison sentence on incitement and terrorism charges, and stop using vague and overbroad laws to imprison journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On December 2, Yangon’s Western District Court convicted and sentenced…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined eight partner organizations in a joint advocacy statement calling on Vietnam’s government to release journalist Pham Doan Trang. Trang, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence for her critical reporting, received CPJ’s 2022 International Press Freedom Award for her courage in the face of persecution. The joint statement published on December 12 was timed…

New York, December 14, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Hong Kong court’s conviction of Jimmy Lai, founder of the defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in a landmark national security trial and calls on authorities to immediately free the 78-year-old British citizen. “This sham conviction is a disgraceful act of persecution,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific…

New York, December 12, 2025—Ahead of Monday’s expected verdict in the national security trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against the 78-year-old publisher and release him immediately and unconditionally. Lai, whose health has worsened after spending…

New York, December 10, 2025一With more than three weeks still to go to the end of the year, the number of journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025 already equals 2024’s record figures, data gathered by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows. Led by Israel’s attacks on journalists in Gaza, Iran, and Yemen, the…

December 8, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists has written to heads of government across Asia ahead of International Human Rights Day on December 10, urging them to immediately free reporters imprisoned for their work. As of December 1, Asia holds at least 106 journalists behind bars, with China (50), Myanmar (27), and Vietnam (16) the…

Updated on December 8, 2025 2:31 AM EST New York, December 8, 2025—Chinese and Hong Kong authorities must immediately stop harassing journalists, release news commentator Wong Kwok-ngon, and allow the media to freely cover the city’s most deadly fire in decades, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. In a rare move, Beijing’s national security arm…

Bangkok, December 4, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the recent release of six journalists in Myanmar as part of a pre-election amnesty of more than 3,800 political prisoners, but urges junta authorities to free all remaining jailed members of the press. Those freed are Zaw Linn Htut (Phoe Thar), Htet Htet Khine, Nay Naw, Nyein Chan Wai, Aung San Lin, and Sithu…

New York, December 3, 2025—Chinese authorities must immediately release journalist Du Bin, drop all charges related to his work, and end the campaign of harassment against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Du, 53, was detained at his home in Beijing on October 15, a day before he was scheduled to fly to…