China

2017

  
Protesters fill Beijing's Tiananmen Square, May 17, 1989. Yang Tongyan has spent a total of 22 years in prison, including for an earlier conviction for opposing the violent dispersal of the protest.

Jailed Chinese journalist suffering from brain tumor

Taipei, August 15, 2017–Chinese authorities should immediately release imprisoned journalist Yang Tongyan from prison and allow him to seek medical care wherever he chooses, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A protester sits under an umbrella as he attends an October 1, 2014 demonstration in Hong Kong. Reporter Mak Ying-sheung faces contempt of court charges after she was arrested while reporting on a November 2014 protest. (Reuters/Tyrone Siu)

Hong Kong charges reporter with contempt for covering 2014 protest

New York, August 10, 2017–Authorities in Hong Kong should immediately drop all charges against reporter Mak Ying-sheung, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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CPJ urges Chinese President Xi Jinping to release jailed journalist Huang Qi

The Committee to Protect Journalists writes to Chinese President Xi Jinping to express deep concern about the deteriorating health condition of journalist Huang Qi, who is imprisoned in Mianyang City, Sichuan, and to urge his release.

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A protester carrying a defaced Chinese national flag is blocked by a police officer during a march to mourn the death of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, in Hong Kong, July 15, 2017. A court in Dali, China, on August 3, 2017, sentenced journalist Lu Yuyu to four years in prison for his work documenting protests on social media. (Reuters/Bobby Yip)

China sentences journalist Lu Yuyu to four years in prison

Washington, D.C., August 4, 2017–A Chinese court’s sentencing of journalist Lu Yuyu to four years in prison is a further heavy blow to press freedom in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Supporters pay their respects to Chinese Noble laureate Liu Xiaobo at a vigil outside the Chinese Liaison Office of Hong Kong. The jailed activist and journalist died in July. (AFP/Isaac Lawrence)

It’s too late for Liu Xiaobo but China could show a little kindness to other jailed journalists

I have no pity for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who dug himself into a deep public relations hole with the unnecessarily cruel treatment of China’s Nobel Laureate and political dissident, who died this week. Liu died of liver cancer in a Chinese hospital, after receiving medical parole in June from prison, where he was diagnosed…

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A policeman tells a photographer not take pictures, in Beijing, May 12, 2017. (Reuters/Thomas Peter)

Chinese journalist arrested on charges of revealing state secrets

Washington, D.C., July 6, 2017–Chinese authorities should drop all charges and immediately free Yang Xiuqiong, a contributor to the banned human rights news website 64 Tianwang, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Sina Weibo's booth is pictured at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing on April 28, 2017. China announced regulations govern websites, apps, microblogs, and, instant messaging. (REUTERS/Jason Lee)

China’s latest internet controls to stifle free expression

Washington, D.C., May 3, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns China’s move on Tuesday to impose yet more stringent controls on the media and free expression by requiring strict licensing requirements for virtually all forms of news distribution.

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Chinese Import

Russia tries to emulate Beijing’s model of information control By Emily Parker Russia has embarked on an ambitious social experiment. Just a few years ago, Russians had a mostly free internet. Now Moscow is looking toward Beijing, trying to imitate the Chinese model of internet control. Yet the Kremlin will likely find that once you…

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Discredited

Journalists’ online activity could hurt their financial standing under a new Chinese plan By Yaqiu Wang In what would be a uniquely daunting form of censorship, the Chinese government is making plans to link journalists’ financial credibility to their online posts.

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer talks to the media during the daily briefing. President Trump and his administration have accused critical outlets of being fake news. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Deciding who decides which news is fake

Authorities decry the proliferation of misinformation and propaganda on the internet, and technology companies are wrestling with various measures to combat fake news. But addressing the problem without infringing on the right to free expression and the free flow of information is extremely thorny.

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2017