Snowden travels trace a path of government hypocrisy
Edward Snowden’s global travels have highlighted the chasm between the political posturing and actual practices of governments when it comes to free expression. As is well known now, the former government contractor’s leaks exposed the widespread phone and digital surveillance being conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency, practices at odds with the Obama administration’s…
Chinese journalist held after publishing book on Tiananmen
New York, June 13, 2013–Chinese authorities must immediately release a journalist who has been detained since May 31 following the publication of his book on the Tiananmen massacre, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Du Bin’s detention, which was reported by his family members, came a few days before the 24th anniversary of the…
An open plea: Xi and Obama can accomplish one thing
Dear President Xi and President Obama, You will both have received many public and private letters of advice prior to your meeting on Friday and Saturday in California. They will urge you to take up specific issues ranging from military and trade concerns to human rights. That diversity of concern is an indicator of how…
Anxiety for jailed Tibetan filmmaker as release nears
In a better world, it is usually a time for joy when a prisoner nears his or her release date. Jailed Tibetan journalists and their families do not live in that world. They live in a crueler place, where freedom is a distant mirage that might never be reached, and exhaustion or death is the…
In China, reporter’s death sparks questions on censorship
Twenty-four-year-old Bai Lu was just four days into her new job as a journalist at the Urumqi Evening Post when she was killed. She and her colleague, Chen Aiying, were struck by a bulldozer while reporting at a major construction project on April 18 in the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang province. Chen was seriously…
China decrees use of foreign news must be approved
You have to wonder how this will be enforced, but China’s State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television has issued a “Notice on Strengthening Control of Media Personnel’s Online Activities” (关于加强新闻采编人员网络活动管理的通知). Chinese media organizations have been told to stop posting foreign media news without government permission: “Without authorization, no kind of media outlets shall arbitrarily…
