Asia

  
Tibetan blogger Woeser waves from the balcony of her home in Beijing on March 8. She was named an International Woman of Courage by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, but rather than being allowed to accept it, she was placed under house arrest. (Reuters/Petar Kujundzic)

Kerry should press Beijing on press freedom

As John Kerry visits China this weekend in his first trip there as U.S. secretary of state, he should take the opportunity to engage Chinese leaders on their problematic record regarding press freedom. 

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Tax story shows investigative reporting alive in Pakistan

Umar Cheema, a CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner in 2011, was a strong runner-up for this year’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia, awarded for the last 10 years by the Asia Society in New York. Umar’s report, Representation Without Taxation, analyzed the tax returns of Pakistani members of parliament for…

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Sri Lankan Tamils hold photos of family members who disappeared in the war between Sri Lankan government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels as they wait to hand over a petition at the U.N. office in Colombo on March 13. (Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte)

UAE may deport refugee Tamil journalist to Sri Lanka

New York, April 10, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by news reports that a Tamil journalist in the United Arab Emirates may be deported to Sri Lanka this week despite her United Nations refugee status, and calls on authorities in the UAE to halt any such deportation measures.

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Indian journalists attacked while covering hospital violence

Several journalists were attacked in an altercation with doctors and medical interns outside the Agartala Government Medical College in the state of Tripura on April 5, 2013, according to news reports. The journalists had arrived on the scene to cover allegations by family members of a patient who the relatives said had died of improper…

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Activists demonstrate in Dhaka over the weekend, calling for bloggers to be given the death penalty. (Reuters/Andrew Biraj)

In Bangladesh, climate worsens for journalists

This past weekend, hundreds of thousands of Islamists took to the streets in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, demanding death for bloggers whose work they see as blasphemous. The demonstrations highlight the deteriorating climate for journalists, both those whose work is the target of the protests and those who have tried to cover the events. Several journalists…

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French photographer escapes captors in Afghanistan

New York, April 8, 2013–Pierre Borghi, a French photographer who was abducted in Kabul more than four months ago, has escaped his captors, according to news reports citing the Afghan government. Borghi’s disappearance had not been made public in 2012 at the request of the French authorities who were trying to secure the journalist’s release.

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Equipment stolen, burned in raid on pro-Baluch paper

New York, April 8, 2013–Pakistani authorities should immediately investigate an attack on the Karachi bureau of the Urdu-language Daily Tawar and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A man reads the Southern Weekly cover story at a newsstand in Beijing on January 10. (Reuters/Jason Lee)

Zeng Li: A rueful look at how censorship works in China

Three days into his retirement, Zeng Li (曾礼) died yesterday at age 61, apparently of intestinal bleeding. Surprisingly, his March 28 farewell letter has spread across China’s social media sites and blogs. The letter is an apology, an explanation of sorts, and an admission of regret regarding the latter part of his career. Zeng served…

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Bangladeshi bloggers form a human chain to protest the detention of their colleagues. (AFP/Munir uz Zaman)

Four bloggers arrested amid crackdown in Bangladesh

New York, April 4, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the recent arrests of four Bangladeshi bloggers in Dhaka in connection with their Internet posts that police said hurt the religious beliefs of people.

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Offices of Tamil-language daily attacked in Sri Lanka

Six masked assailants on April 3, 2013, attacked the offices of a Tamil-language newspaper in the town of Kilinochchi in the Northern Province, injuring several employees and damaging equipment, according to news reports.

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