China / Asia

  
President Xi Jinping and his wife join the Obamas at the White House on September 25. The press in China has been issued directives to limit negative reports about the U.S. visit. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

Cap and trade: How China maintains positive coverage with limit on negative news

China’s President Xi Jinping announced a major cap-and-trade program on carbon emissions at the White House today, but a cap on press freedom back home has long been in place.

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As world leaders take to UNGA stage, CPJ highlights countries of concern

Press freedom records of Egypt, Russia, Iran, China, Nigeria, Mexico, Ecuador New York, September 25, 2015–Each year, the world’s leaders are invited to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where they are given a platform to speak freely and openly. But while the leaders of many countries enjoy this privilege, their journalists back…

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Harassment in China: Foreign correspondents’ club releases report

From being followed by plain clothes policemen to being locked in a hotel conference room, the life of an international journalist in China comes with its challenges. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China released details on September 13 of six cases of members being harassed by authorities between March and August this year.

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News crews film as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for a military parade in Beijing. In an apparent change of tone, a media group known for its liberal stance gave the event glowing coverage. (AP/Andy Wong, Pool)

In China, last of the liberals under pressure to toe party line

The day after a lavish military parade was held in Beijing on September 3 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s role in defeating Japan, three major Chinese newspapers–Southern Weekend, Southern Metropolis, and Southern Daily–published pages of photographs and articles brimming with nationalist sentiment. The papers all belong…

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Chinese state TV airs footage of journalist saying he regrets writing stock market story

New York, August 31, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of a Chinese journalist who has been held since Tuesday and accused of spreading false information. The Chinese state broadcaster on Monday aired footage of Wang Xiaolu appearing to say that he regrets writing a story about the stock market.

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In China, journalist reporting on stock market held by police

New York, August 26, 2015–Chinese authorities should immediately release a journalist who has been held since Tuesday and accused of spreading false information, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Wang Xiaolu is a reporter for the Beijing-based business magazine Caijing.

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Journalists and their supporters gather outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on March 2, 2014, in support of Kevin Lau. (AP/Vincent Yu)

In Hong Kong, Kevin Lau’s resiliency reflected in new independent media

A Hong Kong court on Friday sentenced two men to 19 years in prison for the attack on journalist Kevin Lau Chun-to. The brutal knifing, of which the mastermind has still not been identified, came at a time when Beijing is increasingly bearing down on the island, and was seen by many as an attack…

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Hong Kong must identify, prosecute the mastermind of 2014 attack on journalist Kevin Lau

New York, August 13, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Hong Kong to work quickly and efficiently to identify the mastermind of the February 2014 attack on newspaper editor Kevin Lau Chun-to and ensure there is full justice in the case. Two men identified as Yip Kim-wah and Wong Chi-wah were found…

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Q&A: How to cope with perils of being a Chinese news assistant for foreign media

News assistants, or zhongmi (which literally means “Chinese secretaries”), are Chinese citizens working for foreign journalists in China. They play a number of roles including monitoring news leads, conducting research, translating materials, and arranging interviews, as well as acting as cultural liaisons who can explain social and political phenomena to journalists who may not be…

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Anti-Beijing protesters in Hong Kong demand the release of jailed journalist Gao Yu on July 23. (AP/Kin Cheung)

An international call for China to release ailing journalist Gao Yu

With the health of jailed journalists Gao Yu fading quickly (see ‘I don’t want to die here’: Gao Yu’s health deteriorates in Beijing prison), 15 media support and human rights groups sent a letter today to Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials calling for the 71-year-old reporter’s unconditional release. Gao suffers from heart disease,…

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