China / Asia

  
A passerby reads newspapers posted on a bulletin board in Beijing. Some foreign correspondents in China say they are finding it hard to find citizens willing to be interviewed. (AFP/Teh Eng Koon)

In China, sources face harassment, jail for speaking to foreign media

Zhang Lifan is a Beijing-based historian specializing in modern Chinese history. He is also an outspoken critic of the Chinese government who is interviewed regularly by the foreign press–even when it leads to harassment from officials. Last month alone, he was quoted in a New York Times article about the government revising the length of…

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A man spins a wheel during new year festivities to predict the winner of Hong Kong's chief executive election. The daily Sing Pao says its staff are being harassed because of its critical coverage. (AFP/Anthony Wallace)

Hong Kong daily Sing Pao says its journalists and website are under attack

New York, February 22, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Hong Kong authorities to investigate the harassment of journalists at the daily Sing Pao. Sing Pao Media Enterprises, which owns the paper, released a statement yesterday saying that staff have been followed and harassed, and that the newspaper’s computer system was attacked.

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Tourists photograph Hong Kong's skyline. A group of new websites has emerged in the city to counter the restrictive climate for the press. (Anthony Wallace/AFP)

Hong Kong journalists try range of models to battle press freedom challenges

A new Chinese-language website pledging to provide Hong Kong with “independent, accurate and fair” news is the latest journalism venture to open in the city, in an attempt to counter increasing Chinese control of the media. Citizen News was launched January 1 by a group of journalists, including Kevin Lau Chun-to and Daisy Li Yuet-wah,…

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Hong Kong news websites barred from government events

New York, December 15, 2016–Hong Kong’s government should grant news websites access to government events, press conferences, and press releases without further delay, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A screen shot shows Shen Hao's tearful 'confession' on Chinese state television channel CCTV. The former chairman of 21st Century Media was sentenced to four years in prison for extortion.

Weighing China jailed cases amid censorship and fear

My native China is consistently among the world’s worst jailers of journalists. This year, it has been eclipsed by Turkey, which is holding a record number of journalists behind bars. But since CPJ began conducting an annual census in 1990, China has topped the ignoble list 18 times.

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Turkey’s crackdown propels number of journalists in jail worldwide to record high

At least 81 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, all of them facing anti-state charges, in the wake of an unprecedented crackdown that has included the shuttering of more than 100 news outlets. The 259 journalists in jail worldwide is the highest number recorded since 1990. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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China detains publisher of human rights news website

New York, November 29, 2016–Chinese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Huang Qi, publisher of the human rights news website 64 Tianwang, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police in China’s southwest Sichuan Province detained Huang last night, amid an intensified crackdown on online journalists and bloggers who report on protests and human rights…

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Editor of human rights news website detained in China

New York, November 28, 2016 – Chinese authorities should immediately release Liu Feiyue, the editor and founder of the human rights news website Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch, known in China as Minsheng Guancha, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Liu’s arrest occurred amid increasing efforts by China to silence journalists and bloggers who…

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In China, foreign correspondents continue to face harassment, restrictions

Conditions for foreign correspondents in China remain difficult, with journalists reporting cases of harassment, surveillance, and restrictions on where they can work, according to findings by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China.

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Hong Kong journalist attacked by protesters

On October 26, 2016, a Hong Kong journalist was attacked by a group of protesters while covering a rally outside of the Legislative Council building.

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