China, local leaders threaten Hong Kong press freedom
In “Dark Clouds on the Horizon,” the Hong Kong Journalists Association’s latest annual report, the group warns that China is tightening its grip over Hong Kong media. The findings come at a time when attacks on a pro-democracy media group, Next Media, have raised fears of aggression against news outlets known for being critical of…
In China, reporter’s death sparks questions on censorship
Twenty-four-year-old Bai Lu was just four days into her new job as a journalist at the Urumqi Evening Post when she was killed. She and her colleague, Chen Aiying, were struck by a bulldozer while reporting at a major construction project on April 18 in the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang province. Chen was seriously…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, March 2013
Remembering Tony Lewis CPJ mourns the death this month of Anthony Lewis, one of the organization’s founding board members and a recipient of its 2009 Burton Benjamin Award for lifetime achievement. Lewis passed away on March 25. “Back in 1981, when CPJ was being formed and its board of directors assembled, Tony Lewis … was…
Video: A Chinese journalist’s inside view of censorship
Journalist Liu Jianfeng worked in China’s state-controlled media for nearly two decades. Eventually, frustration with the system and pressure from his colleagues prompted him to quit. He continues to report on public issues such as land grabs, and hopes to find a new model for investigative journalism in China. Jonah Kessel reports. (11:10) Read our…
Challenged in China
1. Beyond censors’ reach, free expression thrives, to a point By Sophie Beach On March 24, 2012, investigative journalist Yang Haipeng posted on his Sina Weibo microblog a story he had heard that alleged a link between Neil Heywood, an English businessman who had been found dead in a Chongqing hotel, and Bo Xilai, the…
Challenged in China
2. Although not explicit, legal threats to journalists persist By Madeline Earp Even as China’s virtual landscape buzzes with criticism of social injustices, government policy, and propaganda directives, independent journalism and expression are still perceived by the Communist Party as explicit political threats. Authorities also exploit vague legal language to prosecute dissenters based on published…
Challenged in China
3. Made in China: Models for media and censorship By Danny O’Brien and Madeline Earp As the founding editor, in 2005, of the Liberian online investigative news site FrontPage Africa, Rodney Sieh has fought off lawsuits, imprisonment, and death threats. In the face of such pressures, he has still managed to expand the website into…
Bo Xilai Scandal: How news breaks in China
Chinese censors worked overtime to squelch reports of the downfall of former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai and the arrest of his wife on murder charges. But savvy journalists and Internet users stayed with the story and soon it commanded international headlines. Click through the timeline to see how a tightly censored story still made…