Dear Mr. Secretary-General: The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned about the United Nations’ refusal to accredit journalists from states not recognized by the U.N. General Assembly. In its rigid application of this policy, the organization excludes these journalists from entering any U.N. facility anywhere in the world and prevents them from performing their work. Journalists from Taiwan are particularly affected by this policy and were unfairly excluded from covering this year’s World Health Organization annual assembly on May 14, as they have been since 2004.
ALGERIA: 2 Djamel Eddine Fahassi, Alger Chaîne III IMPRISONED: May 6, 1995 Fahassi, a reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaîne III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, including the now-banned weekly of the Islamic Salvation Front, Al-Forqane, was abducted near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of the capital, Algiers, by four…
ALGERIA: 2 Djamel Eddine Fahassi, Alger Chaîne III IMPRISONED: May 6, 1995 Fahassi, a reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaîne III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, including the now-banned weekly of the Islamic Salvation Front, Al-Forqane, was abducted near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of the capital, Algiers, by four…
AFGHANISTAN: 1 Ali Mohaqqiq Nasab, Haqooq-i-Zan (Women’s Rights) Imprisoned: October 1, 2005 The attorney general ordered editor Nasab’s arrest on blasphemy charges after the religious adviser to President Hamid Karzai, Mohaiuddin Baluch, filed a complaint about his magazine. “I took the two magazines and spoke to the Supreme Court chief, who wrote to the attorney…
New York, August 10, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Taiwanese government’s recent actions against the cable television news station ETTV-S. The government halted the station’s broadcasts and revoked its license last week, citing “irresponsible” reporting. The Government Information Office, the official agency tasked with monitoring the media, accused the station of abusing broadcast…
AUGUST 3, 2005 Posted: August 18, 2005 ETTV-S CENSORED The Taiwanese government halted the broadcasts of cable television news station ETTV-S and revoked its license, citing “irresponsible” reporting. The Government Information Office, the official agency tasked with monitoring the media, accused the station of abusing broadcast guidelines with sensational coverage of sex scandals and crime,…
Overviewby Abi Wright Threats to press freedom spiked throughout Asia in 2004, even as the news media claimed significant accomplishments. Across the region, 2004 was an election year, with citizens casting ballots in nations such as Afghanistan, whose landmark vote was peaceful and orderly, and India, where more than 370 million went to the polls.…
TaiwanIn 2004, the competitive and outspoken Taiwanese press reported critically on the government, corruption, and world affairs. Taiwanese journalists faced largely economic pressures, and the highly partisan coverage of a contentious election year raised questions about financial and political influence over the press.
Around the world, 122 journalists were in prison at the end of 2004 for practicing their profession, 16 fewer than the year before. International advocacy campaigns, including those waged by the Committee to Protect Journalists, helped win the early release of a number of imprisoned journalists, notably six independent writers and reporters in Cuba.