Amid jail releases, Chinese journalist’s sentence extended
New York, June 23, 2011–Authorities in Shandong should overturn a second prison sentence handed down to freelance journalist Qi Chonghuai just days before the end of his term, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Two of three Chinese journalists scheduled for release this month are out of jail. Artist Ai Weiwei was unexpectedly freed…
Attacks on the Press in 2008: China
In the year of the “One World, One Dream” Olympics, China’s punitive and highly restrictive press policies became a global issue. International reporters who arrived early to prepare for the Games flocked to cover antigovernment riots in Tibet and western provinces in March and the Sichuan earthquake in May. They encountered the sweeping official interference…
Olympics: Dissidents’ spouses face great strain
Amid the fanfare of the Olympic opening ceremony today, a press release from Human Rights in China highlights pressure on dissidents and their families as Chinese authorities try to quash anything that threatens to disturb the long-awaited Games. Police are watching jailed journalist Lu Gengsong’s wife and daughter, and they told the wife of recently…
Chinese journalist sentenced to four years
New York, May 13, 2008—Qi Chonghuai, a journalist in China’s Shandong province who had written critically about local officials, was sentenced today to four years in prison for fraud and extortion in a trial that lasted 12 hours, according to his wife and lawyers. Access to the trial was limited, and reporters were not allowed…
Attacks on the Press 2007: China
In a year of internal political wrangling and further emergence on the global stage, Chinese leadership under President Hu Jintao showed a keen awareness of public opinion at home and abroad. But the result was not greater freedom for the press. The administration undertook a clumsy effort to woo the foreign press corps while simultaneously…
Detained journalist maltreated in China
New York, October 25, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned for the safety of detained journalist Qi Chonghuai, who was beaten by police while in custody, according to his wife. Qi has been detained at the Tengzhou Detention Center in the eastern province of Shandong since June 25 when police took him from his…