China’s Olympic press freedom pledges: Worthless in 2008, absent in 2022
Prospects for free-wheeling media coverage of the February Beijing Winter Olympics seem increasingly dim, not least because of the attitude of the International Olympic Committee. On October 13, John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, dismissed out of hand calls from CPJ, human rights groups, and US lawmakers to pressure Beijing over its…
China to ban private investment in the nation’s news industry
Taipei, October 14, 2021 – Chinese authorities must drop plans to ban private funding of the news media, and allow news organizations to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 8, the National Development and Reform Commission, a ministerial-level department overseeing China’s economic and social development policies, released its “2021 Negative…
Journalists’ profiles must be restored on LinkedIn’s China site, CPJ says
Washington, D.C., October 6, 2021 — LinkedIn should immediately restore journalists’ blocked profiles in China, be transparent about the process that leads to profile takedowns, and ensure that the company does not facilitate the global export of Chinese censorship of reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. LinkedIn blocked the profiles of several U.S….
Hong Kong police arrest, charge journalist with disorderly conduct after anniversary of Prince Edward metro station ‘831 incident’
On August 31, 2021, at around 9 p.m., Hong Kong police arrested Leung Chi-Hung, a reporter for the online news outlet Egg Egg Club, while dispersing crowds outside of the Prince Edward metro station, according to news reports. Leung, who was filming police operations at the station on the two-year anniversary of the “831 incident,”…
Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan hospitalized after her health declines in prison
Taipei, August 26, 2021 – Chinese authorities must release imprisoned journalist Zhang Zhan immediately and ensure that she receives proper medical care, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Zhang, an independent video journalist, was arrested last May and sentenced to four years in prison in December for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after she…
Chinese authorities detain, indict 11 people for contributing to The Epoch Times
Taipei, August 24, 2021 – Chinese authorities should immediately release all people detained for their alleged work with the U.S.-based outlet The Epoch Times, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On April 25, the Beijing Dongcheng People’s Procuratorate indicted 11 people for allegedly sending photos and reporting to The Epoch Times about the government’s…
Human rights reporter Zhou Weilin sentenced to 3.5 years in Chinese prison
Taipei, August 5, 2021 – Chinese authorities should immediately release reporter Zhou Weilin, and ensure that journalists are able to cover the country’s human rights issues freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 29, a court in Feidong county in Anhui province in eastern China sentenced Zhou, a reporter for the Chinese-language…
International journalists face intense harassment, threats of violence while covering flooding in China
Taipei, July 26, 2021—Chinese authorities should ensure that all journalists can report without fear of violence and harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 24, a crowd of angry bystanders in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, surrounded and confronted journalists from the Los Angeles Times and the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle while…
Investigative reporter Bradley Hope: Pegasus spyware revelations a ‘wake-up call for journalists’
Bradley Hope was in Abu Dhabi in 2009, the year the BlackBerry devices overheated. “If you put it next to your face it would almost burn,” he told CPJ in a phone interview. The BBC that year reported that a UAE telecom company had prompted local BlackBerry owners to install a rogue surveillance update disguised…
Hong Kong police arrest former Apple Daily executive editor Lam Man-chung
Taipei, July 21, 2021 – Hong Kong authorities should immediately release Lam Man-chung and all other former employees of the shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 6 a.m. today, police arrested Lam, the newspaper’s former executive editor-in-chief, at his home in Sai Kung Town on suspicion of…