The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is deeply frustrated by reports that China’s Central
Propaganda Department has blocked all media reporting of the anniversary of
2011’s deadly high-speed train crash in Wenzhou, in China’s eastern Zhejiang
Province.
On the evening of July 23, 2011, two
high-speed bulletin trains collided in Wenzhou, killing
40 people and injuring at least 192 others. During the rescue, government officials
quickly ordered the burial of the train the wreckage, drawing criticism from
the public for their attempts to cover-up the incident.
Only state-owned
media organisations, including Xinhua news agency and China Central Television,
were allowed to attend a press conference to interview Railway Ministry
officials, with other organisations blocked
from attending. The Railway Ministry also contacted media organisations and
pressured them to ask journalists to leave the scene of the accident. On July
30, 2011, the Beijing Propaganda Department issued an order to all local media forbidding
independent reporting of the crash. At least two China Central Television media personnel were
reportedly punished for criticising the rescue efforts in their programmes.
The IFJ has
learned that a similar directive has been given to local reporters this year,
forbidding all independent reporting of the anniversary of the Wenzhou train
crash.
“Unfortunately,
quite a number of newspapers have already ordered their staff to ignore the
anniversary”, one local journalist said. “But, despite this, many journalists refuse
to forget the disaster”.
““Directives to restrict reporting on
the Wenzhou rail disaster anniversary are denying the public their right to be
informed about issues related to public safety, and engage in public debate
about reform and improvement of the rail system,” IFJ Asia-Pacific said.
“The IFJ urges China’s Premier Wen Jiabao
to swiftly investigate the new restrictions on the media, and uphold his
assertion that the people have the right to have oversight of the performance
of their government.”
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333
0950
The IFJ
represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
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