Jailed journalist Gao Yu saw what was coming. So should the IOC
Gao Yu was right, I was wrong. Gao, who was handed a seven-year prison sentence in a Beijing court on Friday, and I met at a conference organized by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers in Paris in April 2008, a few months before the Beijing Olympic Games were to get underway. CPJ…
Chinese journalist Gao Yu sentenced to seven years
New York, April 17, 2015–A Beijing court today convicted Chinese journalist Gao Yu of leaking state secrets and handed her a seven-year sentence, according to news reports. Gao, a freelance journalist, has written about Chinese politics, the economy, and social trends for Chinese media in Hong Kong and overseas. She was arrested in April 2014,…
Amid US-China talks, tough words from Xi Jinping for foreign press
Chinese President Xi Jinping issued tough words on the visa woes of international media outlets today, arguing that journalists facing visa restrictions had brought trouble on themselves and signaling that there will be little respite for the international media in China.
Critical Chinese blogger given six-year prison term
New York, July 23, 2014–Chinese authorities today sentenced a blogger to more than six years in prison, according to news reports. Dong Rubin, a businessman who has criticized the ruling Communist Party in his blogs, has been in prison since September 2013.
China releases journalists from prison
As in past years, China in 2014 arrested some journalists and activists in the run-up to the anniversary of the massacre of protesters in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. This year, journalists were also arrested in possible connection to an ongoing police probe into prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang and for reporting on…
Ever broader restrictions handed down for China’s reporters
Yet another set of rules restricting the work of journalists in China takes the concept of “overbroad” to new heights. According to guidelines made public Tuesday by the official state news agency Xinhua, the new rules cover various “information, materials, and news products that journalists may deal with during their work, including state secrets, commercial…
CPJ concerned by new restrictions on journalists in China
New York, June 18, 2014–China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued a circular today that, if fully implemented, will curtail Chinese journalists’ ability to report. News of the directive came via the official state news agency, Xinhua.
Former Hong Kong editor in critical condition after attack
Hong Kong, February 26, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s attack on a journalist in Hong Kong and calls on authorities to conduct a thorough and efficient investigation and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice. Kevin Lau Chun-to is now in critical condition, according to news reports.
Tougher tactics emerge in China’s media crackdown
Late in 2013, Time’s Hannah Beech posted a great blog on the magazine’s website around the time that about 24 foreign journalists were worried that the visas allowing them to work in China might not be approved: “Foreign Correspondents in China Do Not Censor Themselves to Get Visas,” she told readers. She’s right, of course,…