China detains, censors bloggers on ‘Jasmine Revolution’
New York, February 25, 2011–China’s censors tightened Internet controls and security officials harassed and detained writers and activists in the wake of an online appeal for a “Jasmine Revolution” in China, according to international human rights groups and news reports. The apparent crackdown came in advance of two top legislative meetings, the National People’s Congress…
Lawyer’s footage of house arrest published in China
Men in plainclothes recently harassed at least six foreign journalists in Shandong province. Vivid news footage shoes a group pelting CNN reporter Stan Grant and his photographer with rocks when they tried to visit the home of an activist under house arrest. Brice Pedroletti from France’s Le Monde, Stephane Lagarde with Radio France Internationale, and…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Philippines
Top Developments • Flawed procedures, witness intimidation, bribes mar Maguindanao prosecution. • Aquino pledges reform, but two more journalists are murdered for their work. Key Statistic 3rd: Ranking on CPJ’s Impunity Index, reflecting one of the world’s worst records in solving press murders. Trial proceedings began in September for the first 19 defendants in the…
Is Taiwan’s media independence under threat?
As business relations develop between China and Taiwan, concerns are growing that Taiwan’s media freedom may be compromised. The culprits include some journalists themselves, promoting China to preserve their own business interests, and Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) government, apparently attempting to exert control over the media through legislation.
China limits reporting on Egypt unrest in favor of ‘harmony’
Chinese information authorities are filtering results of Chinese-language Internet searches for “Egypt” and “Cairo,” according to Global Voices Online and The Wall Street Journal. The unrest raging there could prompt comparison with the student-led protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 or incite anti-government demonstrations.
Veteran Chinese columnist dismissed for critical articles
New York, January 28, 2011–The Chinese government is stepping up pressure on media outlets in order to silence outspoken journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Guangzhou-based Southern Media Group forced veteran columnist and editor Zhang Ping to resign Thursday following pressure from information authorities due to his candid commentaries, according to international…
Singapore forces popular site to register as political group
New York, January 26, 2011–In a concerning move against political commentary in advance of upcoming general elections, the government of Singapore has ordered a journalistic website to register as a political association, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Online Citizen says it has complied with the order, and has announced a January 29 “celebration” of…
CPJ asks Obama to raise jailed Chinese journalists with Hu
Dear President Obama: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to you in advance of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to the United States in January to urge you to raise press freedom issues during your talks. We ask that you make clear the depth of U.S. concern that China is the world’s leading jailer of journalists.
CPJ’s Rebecca MacKinnon on ‘Internet freedom’ in WSJ
Here’s a quick pointer to an insightful Wall Street Journal op-ed about Internet freedom from CPJ board member (and former CNN colleague) Rebecca MacKinnon. She’s based in Washington these days, a Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow at the New America Foundation, so she has plenty to say about inside the Beltway funding issues. But she’s…