Chinese media freedom in a ‘sensitive’ period
I was in London on Friday, speaking at a seminar joint-hosted by the BBC Chinese service and the British think tank Chatham House called “Media Freedom in China and the Role of International Broadcasters.” There was a lot of impassioned discussion about the range of challenges facing international broadcasters, from slashed budgets to the recent…
No spring in China, but are the media heading for a fall?
Here’s a quick toss to a video posted on YouTube by Australian Broadcasting’s reporter Stephen McDonell. He and his crew decided to confront some Chinese security types (not surprisingly they didn’t identify themselves) who had been following them in Wenzhou while reporting in China. The team was covering religion, including underground or “house” churches–those not…
How the U.S. should raise human rights in China dialogue
One day ahead of two-day bilateral talks with the U.S., China’s Foreign Ministry rejected what it labeled “interference” in the country’s internal affairs under the rubric of human rights, according to international news reports. Despite this obstructionist tone, CPJ hopes that Washington officials, led by Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Michael Posner,…
Mainstream journalists also targeted in China crackdown
New York, March 30, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the dismissal of two Guangzhou-based journalists who advocate for political reform amid tightening restrictions on free expression. While several bloggers and activists have disappeared or been detained in the last month after anonymous calls for demonstrations in support of political reform were published…
Online writer indicted, another missing in China
New York, March 28, 2011–Police indicted one online writer on anti-state charges in Sichuan today and another disappeared in Guangzhou on Sunday, according to international news reports. Both cases appear part of the Chinese Communist Party’s strenuous efforts to suppress their critics and pre-empt a “Jasmine Revolution” in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said…
Mideast protests a red flag to Chinese censors
Working to defend press freedom, I take it that I’ve hit the mark when I get censored. So I smiled today when I got an e-mail from a friend in China who said he was in the gym watching breakfast television when my face came up on CNN. I opened my mouth and the screen…
CPJ calls on China to stop inhibiting international press
New York, March 7, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists rejects statements by a Chinese government official that international reporters are not being detained, attacked, and harassed in China. CPJ calls on the police to end their anti-media attempts to stop foreign journalists from reporting on possible anti-government demonstrations in what has become known as the…
China threatens foreign journalists for ‘illegal’ reporting
New York, March 3, 2011–Police threats to revoke foreign journalists’ visas and require advance permission for newsgathering are disturbing new efforts to restrict reporting on protests in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Abusive Twitter messages target foreign media in China
California-based China Digital Times (CDT) reports new Chinese-language Twitter commentators have appeared in the last week. Twitter is generally blocked in China, but heavily used by activists who access it by means of proxy networks overseas. The recent arrivals are vocal supporters of the government’s efforts to tamp down nascent “Jasmine Revolution” rallies anonymously organized…
Foreign journalists detained in China’s ‘Jasmine’ protests
New York, February 28, 2011–Chinese security officials’ concerted attack on the foreign press in a busy commercial street near Tiananmen Square in Beijing Sunday is a return to the restrictions international reporters faced before they were eased in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.