Journalists at the Beijing Winter Olympics may test China’s tolerance for critical coverage
Can China and the International Olympic Committee maintain a “bubble” of total press freedom inside China’s vast sea of repression? That’s the question facing thousands of journalists as they arrive in the coming weeks to cover the Beijing Winter Olympics, which kick off on February 4. (CPJ’s safety advisory for those attending addresses coronavirus restrictions…
Hong Kong authorities file new charges against Jimmy Lai and six other Apple Daily executives in fresh media crackdown
Taipei, December 29, 2021 – Hong Kong authorities must immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Jimmy Lai, founder of the Next Digital Limited media company and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, as well as six former Next Digital and Apple Daily staff, and release them immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On…
Hong Kong police raid Stand News, arrest 6 for alleged sedition
New York, December 28, 2021 – In response to Hong Kong authorities’ raid on Stand News today and the arrests of six people affiliated with the outlet, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “The arrests of six people associated with Stand News amounts to an open assault on Hong Kong’s…
CPJ’s Steven Butler: China’s sentencing of Jimmy Lai over Tiananmen Square vigil is ‘despicable’
Taipei, December 13, 2021 — In response to a Hong Kong court’s decision today to sentence Jimmy Lai, founder of the Next Digital media company and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, to 13 months imprisonment over his alleged connection to a 2020 vigil marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Committee to Protect…
‘Taken into a cage’: Hong Kong’s sad media milestone
The year 2021 marks a sad milestone in Hong Kong. For the first time journalists in the former British colony appear on CPJ’s annual survey of journalists unjustly imprisoned for their work. Eight. Zero to eight in one year. I first visited Hong Kong nearly 50 years ago as a student and returned to live…
Hong Kong refuses visa renewal for Economist correspondent Sue-Lin Wong
Taipei, November 15, 2021 – Hong Kong authorities should renew the visa of The Economist’s China correspondent, Sue-Lin Wong, and allow foreign correspondents to work freely in the city, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Hong Kong authorities refused to renew Wong’s employment visa, according to a November 12 statement by The Economist’s editor-in-chief,…
CPJ’s 2021 International Press Freedom Awards to stream November 18
New York, November 9, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists will join friends and supporters from around the world on November 18 to celebrate courageous journalists and the power of press freedom at the 31st annual International Press Freedom Awards. The virtual event, to be streamed on ipfa.cpj.org and abcnews.com, will be hosted by…
Hong Kong FCC survey shows journalists concerned about possible arrest and prosecution
A significant majority of journalists in Hong Kong are concerned about the possibility of arrest or prosecution due to their work, according to a survey recently published by the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC). The survey, based on responses from 70 correspondents for foreign media and 29 for local news organizations, about 25% of the…
Hong Kong police arrest, charge journalist with disorderly conduct after anniversary of Prince Edward metro station ‘831 incident’
On August 31, 2021, at around 9 p.m., Hong Kong police arrested Leung Chi-Hung, a reporter for the online news outlet Egg Egg Club, while dispersing crowds outside of the Prince Edward metro station, according to news reports. Leung, who was filming police operations at the station on the two-year anniversary of the “831 incident,”…
Hong Kong police arrest former Apple Daily executive editor Lam Man-chung
Taipei, July 21, 2021 – Hong Kong authorities should immediately release Lam Man-chung and all other former employees of the shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 6 a.m. today, police arrested Lam, the newspaper’s former executive editor-in-chief, at his home in Sai Kung Town on suspicion of…