China

2012

  
Director Stephen Maing, right, and Chinese blogger Zola answer questions at the Tribeca Film Festival. (CPJ/Gregory Fay)

New film “High Tech, Low Life” on Chinese bloggers

“High Tech, Low Life,” a new documentary about Chinese bloggers directed by Stephen Maing, debuted at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 19. It documents the lives of Zola (Zhou Shuguang) and Tiger Temple (Zhang Shihe), as they blur the lines of citizen journalism and activism though their reporting on evictions,…

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Blind lawyer spurs news blackout in China

News of blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng has been censored for months. International news reports of his escape last week from incarceration in his home in Linyi, Shandong–apparently to U.S. protection, although his whereabouts remain unclear–has only intensified that censorship. That is unlikely to stop discussion among those familiar with Chen’s case.

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Writer jailed for defamation amid China rumor crackdown

New York, April 26, 2012–A court in Hunan province has sentenced local resident Hu Lianyou to two years in prison for defaming a police chief in online writings, according to local news reports.

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Boxun News website was attacked after reporting on the scandal involving Bo Xilai. (AFP/Frederic J. Brown)

Boxun news site attacked amid Bo Xilai coverage

New York, April 25, 2012–The U.S.-based, Chinese-language news website Boxun has come under two crippling denial-of-service attacks in the past week as the outlet sought to report on the unfolding murder and corruption scandal involving former senior Communist Party leader Bo Xilai. The attacks forced Boxun to change its hosting company twice, the site’s founder…

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Chinese Internet crackdown on Bo Xilai rumors continues

New York, April 13, 2012–Chinese authorities should halt their censorship of Web content in the aftermath of senior politician Bo Xilai’s dismissal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Internet officials in China have deleted at least 210,000 online posts and shut down as many as 42 websites since mid-March for allegedly spreading rumors, the…

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(AP/Muhammed Muheisen)

Chinese censors target tomatoes amid Bo Xilai scandal

Chongqing hotpot = King of the Southwest = King Who Pacifies the West = Minister of Yu = Tomato What do these words have in common? They are all coded references to Bo Xilai, the disgraced former Communist Party leader in southwestern Chongqing, and they were all censored in China on Tuesday, according to the…

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Authorities have suspended the comments feature on the Chinese microblog site Weibo, seen here, as a punishment for 'allowing rumors to spread.' (AFP/Mark Ralston)

In China, website restrictions after politician’s ouster

New York, April 2, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by Chinese authorities’ recent clampdown on the Internet after rumors circulated about politician Bo Xilai’s dismissal from the Communist Party leadership in Chongqing. In recent days, authorities have shut down several microblog sites and detained and targeted Internet users.

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Reports are now emerging that a journalist was jailed in 2010 for criticizing the policies of Bo Xilai, above. (AFP)

Chinese journalist, a Bo Xilai critic, reportedly jailed

New York, March 30, 2012–Authorities in Chongqing must clarify the status of a journalist who reports say was secretly sentenced to prison in 2010 for criticizing a government official in a personal blog, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ has not been able to independently confirm the journalist’s jail sentence or his whereabouts.

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Chongqing party leader Bo Xilai's departure has left journalists with the difficult task of reporting on unconfirmed reports.

How to stop rumors in China: Stop censorship

The sacking of Chongqing party leader Bo Xilai has sparked some entertaining gossip this month, leaving journalists covering China with the difficult task of reporting on unconfirmed reports. The Chinese government blames the international media, not its own lack of transparency and comprehensive censorship apparatus, for the burgeoning rumors. 

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A Chinese woman carries a protrait of Bo Xilai, until recently a rising political star with little tolerance for critics. (AFP)

As Chinese politician censored, exiled journalist triumphs

The political ouster of Bo Xilai, Chinese Communist Party top dog in the major southwestern city of Chongqing, has been making headlines around the world. Bo notoriously silenced critics like investigative journalist Jiang Weiping, but the shoe is now on the other foot, at least for a while.Many China watchers are familiar with Bo because…

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2012