Asia
2011
Planning the next steps in Chinese media control
In the latest sign of increasing pressure on Chinese companies to tighten control of the Internet, Chinese authorities convened an unusual seminar in Beijing for senior executives of 39 major enterprises involved in Internet services, technology and telecommunications.
China confronts Internet rumors and trashy TV
Along with cracking down on what it considers trashy TV — China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said Tuesday that it will limit entertainment and add more news and other programs that “build morality and promote the core values of socialism” — the government is going after what it calls rumor mongers…
From Karachi to New York: A tale of fear, loss, and hope
On Monday, a well-known Pakistani journalist came to our office in New York. We had been messaging and texting for a few weeks, so I knew what to expect. Despite the harsh reality check that CPJ’s Sheryl Mendez and I offered during our 90-minute meeting, he is going ahead with the process of applying for…
Holding intermediaries liable for users’ content
Earlier this month, I spoke as an expert witness in the ongoing trial of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the editor of Thailand’s Prachatai.com website, who is being criminally prosecuted under that country’s Computer Crime Act and Lesé Majesté laws. The crime involves online posts allegedly disrespectful to Thailand’s monarchy, but Chiranuch herself is not accused of originating…
Baluchistan’s press under siege
Reporters in Pakistan’s conflict-stricken province of Baluchistan have been organizing to display their anger against the continued death threats they have been receiving from government secret services, religious militant groups, and armed nationalist organizations. Their most recent demonstration on October 1 was only one in a string of protests to confront the problem.
Watching Burma’s prisoner release
CPJ and other Burma watchers are monitoring the announcements of the unfolding prisoner release closely. As a press freedom organization, we’ve focused most closely on the fate of the 14 journalists we counted in jail in Shawn Crispin’s report, “In Burma, transition neglects press freedom” that we posted on September 20. In our alert today…
Press freedom heroes in Southeast Asia
Three Southeast Asian journalists–Cambodia’s Hang Chakra, Malaysia’s Zulkiflee Anwar Ul Haque, or Zunar, and Thailand’s Chiranuch Premchaiporn–were among the 48 awardees of the Hellman/Hammett grant, given to writers targeted with political persecution, who were recognized today by Human Rights Watch for their commitment to press freedom.
Free Burma VJ campaign urges release of journalists
From Paris to Bangkok, London to Geneva, the Free Burma VJ campaign will stage protests in front of Burmese embassies on Friday to call for the immediate release of 17 jailed video journalists working for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), a leading Burmese exile media organization. The campaign began less than two months after Burma’s…
On 9/11 and post-conflict Sri Lanka
For a few years now, I have used Sugi Ganeshananthan’s articles as a frame of reference for CPJ advocacy in Sri Lanka. Ganeshananthan, a novelist and essayist who teaches at the University of Michigan, writes stories often grounded in current events. Her 2008 novel, Love Marriage, addresses the cultural and familial conflicts that Sri Lankans…
A killing field: The targeting of journalists in Pakistan
For the past several weeks, CPJ’s Asia and Journalist Assistance programs have been in regular contact with local and international organizations who are concerned about the rising number of journalists and media workers at risk in Pakistan. CPJ and several other groups are working together on viable, in-country solutions: Journalists in Pakistan are in need…