Hong Kong’s accelerating media freedom decline
As a former resident of the Special Administrative Region, the classification given Hong Kong when it reverted to China’s control in 1997, I’ve always watched the media there with the appreciative eye of a news consumer. The concept of “One Country, Two Systems,” put forward to explain how the former British colony’s capitalist economy and…
Chinese censorship fans rumors on Jiang Zemin
Sina’s Twitter-like microblog platform Weibo blocked searches for “death,” “river” and “301 Hospital” on Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal website. The company was responding to what Reuters reported was the service’s most-discussed topic yesterday–the rumored demise of former President Jiang Zemin, whose surname, Jiang, means “river,” and who may or may not have…
Tibetan magazine editor given four-year jail term
New York, July 6, 2011–The closed-door sentencing of a Tibetan magazine editor jailed without charge for over a year is another disturbing indicator of the lack of due process allowed to ethnic minority journalists in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
On food safety, China misapplies a ‘blacklist’
Sarcasm reflects how aware the Chinese public has become of the dangers of adulterated food. After Japan’s Fukushima nuclear crisis, a rumor circulated in China that table salt could prevent radiation. In spite of the government’s efforts to curb the rumors, tons of overpriced table salt were sold overnight. Chinese netizens reassured the public in…
Amid jail releases, Chinese journalist’s sentence extended
New York, June 23, 2011–Authorities in Shandong should overturn a second prison sentence handed down to freelance journalist Qi Chonghuai just days before the end of his term, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Two of three Chinese journalists scheduled for release this month are out of jail. Artist Ai Weiwei was unexpectedly freed…
China releases artist Ai Weiwei, questions remain
New York, June 22, 2011–Artist and filmmaker Ai Weiwei’s release from prison leaves questions unanswered about his illegal detention and other missing activists and journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The whereabouts of Ai’s associate, freelance journalist Wen Tao, missing since April 3 and presumed detained, is still unknown.
Uighur refugee extradited by Kazakhstan, held in China
Kazakhstan authorities have extradited Uighur schoolteacher Arshidin Israil to China, where officials have described him without elaboration as a “major terror suspect,” according to Reuters and other news accounts. Israil and his supporters believe the detention comes in reprisal for reporting he contributed to Radio Free Asia concerning the July 2009 riots in Xinjiang Uighur…
Public health still risky topic for Chinese journalists
Public health reporting is improving in China, but not fast enough. A new Human Rights Watch report on child lead poisoning in Chinese cities documents harassment of local journalists trying to cover the problem. “Journalists who reported on the lead poisoning in three of the four locations told Human Rights Watch that police had followed…
Chinese media freedom in a ‘sensitive’ period
I was in London on Friday, speaking at a seminar joint-hosted by the BBC Chinese service and the British think tank Chatham House called “Media Freedom in China and the Role of International Broadcasters.” There was a lot of impassioned discussion about the range of challenges facing international broadcasters, from slashed budgets to the recent…