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In 2001, the Chinese government finally achieved two long-standing goals that brought the country closer to full integration in the international community. In July, Beijing won a bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, and in November, the World Trade Organization officially accepted China as a member. These developments helped secure the legacy of President…
In 2001, Malaysia’s ruling National Front coalition, led by aging strongman Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, sought to broaden already tight controls on the press through coercion, ownership changes, verbal bullying, and backroom personnel moves. Currently, all publications must obtain an annual press license to operate, and the permit can be withdrawn without judicial review. Radio…
In the run-up to November’s general elections, entrenched government control of the media and new regulations governing the Internet and the foreign press virtually silenced public dissent. The ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) overwhelming dominance in the media sector helped guarantee the party’s supremacy: It won more than 75 percent of the vote, its biggest…
An independent and lively press remains a bedrock of Taiwan’s democratic society, though debates over the limits of free expression persist. The media’s penchant for covering scandals was checked by a high-profile lawsuit lodged by the vice president and by an attack on the racy tabloid Taiwan Next. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s acute concern about safeguarding national…
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
New York, New York, February 14, 2002–CPJ delivered nearly 600 petitions to Chinese president Jiang Zemin today calling for the release of journalist Jiang Weiping, a recipient of CPJ’s 2001 International Press Freedom Award. The petitions urge President Jiang to “release Jiang Weiping and other jailed Chinese journalists immediately and unconditionally, and to uphold the…
New York, November 2, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the nine-year prison sentence handed down to journalist Jiang Weiping by the Dalian Intermediate Court in Liaoning Province. The sentence was confirmed by CPJ sources, but has not yet been publicly announced. In a secret trial held on September 5, CPJ International Press Freedom…
New York, October 2, 2001—After trying unsuccessfully for three years to secure his release from prison, Gao Qinrong, a reporter for the official Xinhua News Agency, has asked the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) to intercede with the Chinese government on his behalf. Gao has been imprisoned since 1998 on trumped-up charges…