Critical Chinese writer released on conditional terms
New York, August 11, 2011–Authorities should cease the residential surveillance of writer Ran Yunfei and allow him to communicate freely following his release from jail this week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ran has been forbidden from speaking publicly, according to The Associated Press.
Chinese TV producer suspended for crash reportage
New York, August 2, 2011–The suspension of a state television producer for his coverage of last week’s fatal train crash sends a disturbing message to Chinese media outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Information authorities intensified media restrictions at the end of last week in an effort to restrain the unusually probing media treatment of the July…
New attempts to rein in train crash coverage in China
New York, August 1, 2011–Chinese propaganda authorities renewed their orders to media groups late Friday not to report on last week’s train crash or its aftermath after their initial bans on coverage were widely disregarded, according to international news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists said today that popular outcry in China at the crash…
Chinese journalist targeted in hacking attack
New York, July 26, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a hacking attack on a Chinese journalist’s e-mail account reported by her employer on Saturday. The attack originated from a region of China where the journalist was investigating child trafficking.
Schlesinger: ‘Media, Murdoch, and social responsibility’
CPJ board member David Schlesinger, who is the chairman of Thomson Reuters in China, delivered a speech today at a conference sponsored by Caixin magazine. He touched on several current issues, and found lessons in the News of the World case that are relevant to journalists everywhere. And I particularly like his description of China’s…
The highs and lows of investigative reporting in China
Veteran investigative journalist Wang Keqin has always been positive about his chosen career, characterizing media restrictions in China as a cycle with ups and downs. In an interview for CPJ’s October 2010 special report “In China, a debate on press rights,” he told CPJ that “there was a big fall-off in reporting freedom in 2008…
China censors reaction to star-studded propaganda film
The creators of “Beginning of the Great Revival,” a new film about the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, have spared no expense to make it a popular success. Done in a popular Chinese soap opera style, the movie features more than 100 stars, along with leading directors and producers. Then, the government enlisted information…
Newspaper’s investigative unit shuttered in China
New York, July 19, 2011–Reports that the Beijing-based China Economic Times has closed its investigative news unit are a concerning sign that pressure is mounting on hard-hitting media outlets in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.