Results matching “china protest a”

The relaxed rules that permeated during the Olympics are to be allowed to expire next month, according to the Foreign Ministry. There had been hopes that the Olympics would mark a general relaxation of the rules following hints from a Chinese official last December.

China did loosen its controls on foreign journalists -- which include requiring government permission for all interviews and travel -- at the beginning of 2007. During the Olympics, journalists were allowed to interview Chinese citizens without seeking government approval.

It is not clear at this stage what will follow after the Olympic rules expire; Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said "I think when the time comes, we will tell everyone what the arrangement will be."

The relaxed regulations did not apply to Chinese journalists; the government has maintained its control over domestic operations throughout the sporting event.

Source: The Associated Press

See also:

China: Officials allegedly released guidelines for local Olympic coverage
Media companies reporting the Olympics, Google launches online tool
China: Lifts some Internet restrictions after IOC negotiations
Thousands Protest China's Press Freedom Violations
China: Internet restrictions for journalists at Beijing

Chinese journalists claim that the Chinese authorities have released guidelines for the local media on how to report during the Olympics, with rules such as ignoring protests or avoiding negatively criticizing the opening ceremony. Chinese authorities, however, deny the issuing of the document.

The 21-point edict was translated in the Sydney Morning Herald and mentioned that journalists should refrain from conducting interviews about the US presidential election or China's foreign relations.

"Follow the official propaganda line on the North Korean nuclear issue; be objective when it comes to the Middle East issue and play it down as much as possible; no fuss about the Darfur question; no fuss about UN reform; be careful with Cuba. If any emergency occurs, please report to the foreign ministry", the decree wrote.  


Source: European Journalism Centre

See also:
Thousands protest China's press freedom violations
Internet restrictions for journalists at Beijing
China: Lifts some Internet restrictions after IOC negotiations

Chinese Authorities appear to have lifted some of the internet restrictions for journalists covering the games after holding talks with the International Olympic Committee yesterday.

Journalist are now able to access websites such as, "Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the BBC's Chinese service", according to Bloomberg.

Beijing Olympic organizing committee spokesman Sun Weide said that, "Beijing organizers will honour the promise to the IOC to provide sufficient access'' and that "at the moment the channel for reporters to use the Internet is fully open.''

On 17 July IOC President Jacques Rogge said that there would be no censorship of the Internet during the Olympics. However, earlier this week China decided to censor sites such as Amnesty International or any sites with "Tibet" in the address. According to China these sites "propagated information'' banned under Chinese law.

Sophie Peer, China campaign coordinator for Amnesty International, said that is was rare that Chinese Government "changes its policy over media issues".

Despite this easing of restrictions, blocking still remains for sites such as "Free Tibet".

Chinese President Hu Jintao said in a rare interview with foreign reporters on Friday, "We also hope you will provide objective and impartial coverage of what you see here so that your report can enhance the communication and understanding between Chinese people and people from other parts of the world."

Source: BBC and Bloomberg

See also:

Thousands Protest China's Press Freedom Violations
China: Internet restrictions for jounalists at Beijing

Journalists going to Beijing for the Olympics have just learned that China intends to censor internet access at the Olympic venues as they do in the rest of the country. And, in the run-up to the Olympics, China has time and again reneged on its promises to allow free reporting.

Journalists trying to do their jobs in China are not the only people concerned -- in recent weeks, some 3,500 newspaper readers have written to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao calling for the release of all jailed journalists in China.

Those readers were responding to public service advertisements from the World Association of Newspapers, published in newspapers in 20 countries, drawing attention to China's failure to honour its Olympic promises.

Something to think about as you watch the Olympics this summer: China is the world's biggest jailer of journalists, with 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissidents behind bars.

Source: WAN

Reporters Without Borders is launching on March 12th the first International Online Free Expression Day, organized under UNESCO patronage, which will be accompanied by the organization's second "24-hour online demo against Internet censorship."

Reporters Without Borders has created virtual representations of nine countries with government censorship, and is calling on internet users to protest web censorship by creating an online avatar and joining an online demonstration. Demonstrations will take place in Burma, China, North Korea, Egypt, Cuba, Eritrea, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, or Vietnam.

According to the European Journalism Centre, 63 cyber-dissidents are currently imprisoned worldwide.

Source: European Journalism Centre

The Malaysian Chinese language daily The China Press, second largest Chinese language paper in Malaysia, has announced that its editor in chief Chong Chung Nam, and executive editor Wong Siew Peng, have resigned.  Protestors have called this a blow to press freedom and claimed that the editors were forced to resign because of government threats that the paper's publishing permit would be cancelled.

Staff at the tabloid the Beijing News, "one of China's most outspoken newspapers", began strike action last Thursday in response to the dismissal of editor-in-chief Yang Bin and other senior editors. Additionally, a petition was circulated amongst the paper's staff "denouncing Mr Yang's dismissal and the handover of control to more conservative editors." 

Last month in Moscow, the Russian Guild of Press Publishers held the First Russian Publishers Conference.  During the Press Freedom Seminar, President of the World Editors Forum and Saturday Editor of The Times (London), George Brock, gave a talk discussing the freedom of the press in Russia, whose text is posted below. 

After Li Datong's open letter (see yesterday's posting) questioning a new appraisal system, that links journalists' salaries to official approval, the state-run paper China Youth Daily has scrapped the system. According to AFP editors and reporters are invited to discuss a new system. However, it is yet too early for reporters to claim victory.

Source: AFP

Li Datong, veteran editor of the outspoken China Youth Daily, wrote an open letter to the staff questioning a new appraisal system linking journalists' salaries to party praise, reports Asia Media. The letter of Li Datong, who is editor of Bingdian Weekly, a supplement running investigative stories every Wednesday, was posted on the popular chat room Yannan BBS, writes Asia Media.

In his "unusual show of dissent against the communist party's iron grip over the media" (AFP), Li Datong argues that the new system threatens editorial freedom: "Under such an uncivilised and unreasonable system, provided that editors and journalists have not gone mad, who on earth would still want to write reports which keep officials in check?" he asked. According to AFP, the appraisal system, that is planned to be implemented this week, works as follows: "Reporters would be awarded 300 points for stories praised by central government leaders, 120 points for those praised by the Communist Party Propaganda Department and 100 points for those praised by party officials. But by the same standard, reporters will receive negative points for writing stories that are criticised by these officials." The new editor-in-chief of China Youth Daily, Li Erliang, took over in December "in a reshuffle regarded as a sign of a tightening of media controls by the authorities", states Asia Media.

The appraisal system seems to be in line with China's efforts to tighten control over the media (see previous posting) and its policy against dissident writers (see previous posting).

Source: AFP, Asia Media