High court jails Canadian journalist for contempt
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is outraged by the Malaysian Court of Appeal’s decision to imprison Far Eastern Economic Review correspondent Murray Hiebert for contempt of court. Hiebert’s sentencing makes Malaysia the only Commonwealth country to have imprisoned a journalist on contempt charges in half a century, according to his lawyers.
Zhu Rongji Urges Watchdog Role for China’s Press Recent Crackdown on Journalists Sends More Ominous Message
“When Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visited the United States in April on a nine-day, six-city tour designed to cultivate support for China’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), he was so media-friendly that he deflected serious attention from his country’s abysmal press freedom record. He started his public relations campaign almost as soon as…
CPJ to Receive $650K from Knight Foundation
New York, N.Y., March 25, 1999 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) will receive $650,000 over three years in support of its programs responding to attacks on journalists, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced today. The grant, its second to CPJ, will bring to $950,000 Knight Foundation’s total giving over five…
Attacks on the Press in 1998
CPJ Confirms 472 Journalists Killed, 1989-1998 Attacks on the Press in 1998 Introduction: Attacks on the Press 1998 Preface: Attacks on the Press 1998 Africa Overview: Attacks on the Press 1998 Angola: Attacks on the Press 1998 Burkina: Attacks on the Press 1998 Burundi: Attacks on the Press 1998 Cameroon: Attacks on the Press 1998…
CPJ Welcomes Release of Gao Yu, Urges China to Free Other 11 Imprisoned Journalists
New York, N.Y., Feb. 16, 1999 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomed the release of Chinese journalist Gao Yu on Monday after five years’ imprisonment in Beijing, while cautioning that China’s press freedom climate has worsened in recent months. At least 11 people remain in prison there on journalism-related charges. CPJ called on…
The Asian Crisis: A Free Press Can Help
The Asian economic turmoil of the last eight months struck many international observers as a sudden calamity–trouble that seemed to drop from the sky like an alien invader. But in fact, the signs of structural weakness and the cracks in the veneer of financial robustness were in plain view for those in a position to…
Enemies of the Press: The 10 Worst Offenders of 1997
On May 3, in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, CPJ announced its annual choices of the top 10 Enemies of the Press worldwide. Those who made the list this year, as in the past, earned the dubious distinction by exhibiting particular zeal for the ruthless suppression of journalists. For the second consecutive year, the…
The Self-Censorship Myth
I am very happy to announce that self-censorship, a phenomenon that has been disturbing the journalistic circle in Hong Kong for many years, is dead. As a matter of fact, it never existed. Let’s be realistic. We should stop calling the sickness “self-censorship” and name it what it really is–censorship. Front-line journalists seldom censor themselves….
China’s Journalists: Breaking Free
It was at the end of my year teaching journalism as a Fulbright lecturer at Fudan University in Shanghai, and one of my best students was talking about his future. “I don’t want to go into journalism,” he said. “It’s too depressing. You can’t be a real journalist.” I had been in China for almost…