Shallow victory for China’s journalists, protesters
Shi Junrong, Xi’an Evening News bureau chief in the city of Wei’an, ran into trouble recently after he reported on the costly brand of luxury cigarettes favored by local officials. He announced on his microblog that the paper suspended him soon after, according to the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia.
What to do if Google warns of state-sponsored attack
Some journalists continue to receive the warning from Google about state-sponsored attacks that we mentioned last week. The message appears on top of logged-in services like Gmail. Occasionally it will disappear for a few hours and then reappear, but there is no way to remove it.
Chinese microblog regulates, suspends users–again
Pity those of us who monitor the ups and downs of China’s popular microblog platform, Sina Weibo. For every story its users spread in defiance of local censorship, there follows a clampdown. Whether it’s the latest strike against rumors, or real name registration, or newly banned keywords, there’s always another restriction in the works as…
China shuts out Al-Jazeera English in Beijing
New York, May 7, 2012–China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately grant accreditation to Al-Jazeera English reporters to work in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The channel said China has refused its long-time correspondent Melissa Chan and other colleagues journalist visas, forcing it to close its Beijing bureau.
Chen Guangcheng reporting censored, obstructed
New York, May 3, 2012–Chinese security officials’ ongoing obstruction of foreign and domestic journalists covering dissident Chen Guangcheng is a worrying sign for supporters trying to secure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities in Chen’s native Shandong province have kept the blind, self-taught lawyer isolated from the media since September 2010.
In China, website restrictions after politician’s ouster
New York, April 2, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by Chinese authorities’ recent clampdown on the Internet after rumors circulated about politician Bo Xilai’s dismissal from the Communist Party leadership in Chongqing. In recent days, authorities have shut down several microblog sites and detained and targeted Internet users.
Chinese journalist, a Bo Xilai critic, reportedly jailed
New York, March 30, 2012–Authorities in Chongqing must clarify the status of a journalist who reports say was secretly sentenced to prison in 2010 for criticizing a government official in a personal blog, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ has not been able to independently confirm the journalist’s jail sentence or his whereabouts.