Asia

  
Alerts
Kashimiri photojournalist Masrat Zahra. (Masrat Zahra)

Jammu and Kashmir police launch investigations into 2 journalists

New Delhi, April 20, 2020 — Authorities in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir must immediately stop harassing journalists Masrat Zahra and Peerzada Ashiq, and let them report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Statements
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, center, who founded local newspaper Apple Daily, is arrested by police officers at his home in Hong Kong, Saturday, April 18, 2020. Hong Kong police arrested at least 14 pro-democracy lawmakers and activists on Saturday on charges of joining unlawful protests last year calling for reforms. (AP/Vincent Yu)

Hong Kong police arrest Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai

Taipei, April 18, 2020–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against Jimmy Lai, founder and chair of Next Digital, following his arrest this afternoon alongside other pro-democracy advocates on suspicion of participating in an illegal assembly. Lai’s media properties, including the Apple Daily, have actively and sympathetically covered…

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Case
Police officers are seen in Wuhan, China, on April 4, 2020. (AP/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese journalist Li Zehua missing in Wuhan since late February

Chinese freelance journalist Li Zehua went missing on February 26, 2020, after live-streaming security agents entering his temporary apartment in the city of Wuhan, according to news reports.

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Alerts
Police officers stand at a street crossing in Beijing, China, on April 7, 2020. Beijing police recently arrested documentary filmmaker Chen Jiaping on subversion charges. (AFP/Nicolas Asfouri)

Chinese authorities detain documentary filmmaker Chen Jiaping on subversion charges

Taipei, April 14, 2020 — Chinese authorities must immediately release documentary filmmaker Chen Jiaping and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Features & Analysis
People walk on a street in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 30, 2020. CPJ recently spoke with journalist Brian Hioe on covering COVID-19 in Taiwan. (AP/Chiang Ying-ying)

Reporter Brian Hioe on dealing with misinformation in Taiwan amid pandemic

Brian Hioe is an editor for the New Bloom Magazine, a news website that covers social issues, politics, and culture in the Asia Pacific region. He also works as a freelance journalist in Taiwan, where the government has been praised for its responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Alerts
Indian journalist Gautam Navlakha is seen in Srinagar on December 6, 2012. The Indian Supreme Court recently ordered Navlakha to turn himself in to a prison, which he said he fears due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/Tauseef Mustafa)

Journalist Gautam Navlakha tells CPJ he fears imprisonment amid COVID-19 pandemic

New Delhi, April 9, 2020 — Indian authorities should stop pursuing the arrest of journalist Gautam Navlakha, and should cease holding journalists in jail during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Features & Analysis
A police officer walks inside a shelter set up for migrants in Mumbai, India, April 6, 2020. The Indian Supreme Court recently passed a directive in response to alleged fake news that prompted migration in the country. (Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas)

Lawyer Apar Gupta on what the Indian Supreme Court’s order on COVID-19 coverage means for journalists

On March 31, the Indian Supreme Court passed a directive making it compulsory for news outlets to carry the government’s official version on any news related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Alerts
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (right) is seen during a press conference at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on April 7, 2020. Journalist Sovann Rithy was recently detained for publishing quotes from the prime minister. (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

Cambodian journalist Sovann Rithy detained for quoting prime minister on COVID-19

Bangkok, April 9, 2020 — Cambodian authorities should immediately release journalist Sovann Rithy, drop all charges against him, and let his news outlet publish freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Features & Analysis
Workers wearing protective suits disinfect a passenger train on the outskirts of Kolkata, India, on April 6, 2020. Indian freelance journalist Vidya Krishnan recently spoke with CPJ about the challenges of covering the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri)

Indian journalist Vidya Krishnan on navigating harassment and government obstruction while covering COVID-19

Vidya Krishnan, a freelance reporter who has covered healthcare in India for 17 years, says she has never seen the kind of harassment and threats that health reporters have received while covering COVID-19.

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Features & Analysis
Journalist Raihana Maqbool reporting in Kashmir. (Aliya Bashir)

Kashmiri journalist Raihana Maqbool on reporting on COVID-19 amid ongoing restrictions

Journalists in Jammu and Kashmir have spent the past eight months navigating an intense crackdown by Indian authorities in the region, including unprecedented restrictions on communications and the longest internet shutdown in a democracy. Now, they have the added challenge on trying to report on the COVID-19 pandemic. India has instituted a strict 21-day national…

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