Zhu Rongji Urges Watchdog Role for China’s Press Recent Crackdown on Journalists Sends More Ominous Message
“When Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visited the United States in April on a nine-day, six-city tour designed to cultivate support for China’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), he was so media-friendly that he deflected serious attention from his country’s abysmal press freedom record. He started his public relations campaign almost as soon as…
118 Journalists Imprisoned in 25 Countries
Washington, D.C., March 25 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported today in its annual worldwide study of press freedom that at least 118 journalists were in prison in 25 countries at the end of 1998, and 24 journalists in 17 countries were murdered during the year in reprisal for their reporting.
CPJ Welcomes Release of Gao Yu, Urges China to Free Other 11 Imprisoned Journalists
New York, N.Y., Feb. 16, 1999 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomed the release of Chinese journalist Gao Yu on Monday after five years’ imprisonment in Beijing, while cautioning that China’s press freedom climate has worsened in recent months. At least 11 people remain in prison there on journalism-related charges. CPJ called on…
The Asian Crisis: A Free Press Can Help
The Asian economic turmoil of the last eight months struck many international observers as a sudden calamity–trouble that seemed to drop from the sky like an alien invader. But in fact, the signs of structural weakness and the cracks in the veneer of financial robustness were in plain view for those in a position to…
Enemies of the Press: The 10 Worst Offenders of 1997
On May 3, in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, CPJ announced its annual choices of the top 10 Enemies of the Press worldwide. Those who made the list this year, as in the past, earned the dubious distinction by exhibiting particular zeal for the ruthless suppression of journalists. For the second consecutive year, the…
Press Freedom Under the Dragon: Special Report on Hong Kong
Six journalists–from Croatia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Russia, Taiwan, and the United States–who have risked their freedom and their lives to report the news will receive the 1997 International Press Freedom Awards from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The recipients are Christine Anyanwu, imprisoned editor in chief of the independent Nigerian news weekly The Sunday Magazine;…
The Self-Censorship Myth
I am very happy to announce that self-censorship, a phenomenon that has been disturbing the journalistic circle in Hong Kong for many years, is dead. As a matter of fact, it never existed. Let’s be realistic. We should stop calling the sickness “self-censorship” and name it what it really is–censorship. Front-line journalists seldom censor themselves….