The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns
the latest efforts of security officials in China to restrict the movement of
journalists, academics and bloggers on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen
Square massacre on June 4.
Zeng Jinyan, a blogger and the wife of imprisoned human
rights defender Hu Jia, and her young daughter were prevented from leaving
their house by several security bureau officers on June 3, despite Zeng telling
them she intended to collect a cake for her mother’s birthday, a blogger told
the IFJ.
Zeng has been under house arrest and constant security
surveillance since Hu’s detention on December 27, 2007. Hu was convicted on
April 4, 2008, of “inciting subversion of state power” for publicly expressing
concern about human rights abuses in China and agreeing to be
interviewed by an overseas online news site. He was jailed for three-and-a-half
years.
The IFJ also received reports that security officers had blocked
the movement of as many as 50 people listed as signatories to the pro-democracy
petition Charter 08, which was published on December 10, 2008, and calls for
political and democratic reform in China, including assurance of the
right to freedom of expression.
One signatory told the IFJ the group was instructed in late
May by security personnel to remain in their houses and not to talk to
journalists or visitors. Otherwise they would be removed from Beijing.
“We believe
those demands were related to the June 4 Tiananmen Square massacre,” one of the signatories said. “We are
furious at what the security bureau did. They
are depriving us of our constitutional rights which
clearly state that citizens of China have the right to freedom of movement and expression.”
A blogger
told the IFJ that he had planned
to visit Hong Kong on May 31 in order to attend a June 4 anniversary
march,but a
security officer prevented him from leaving mainland China at the border. He
said the officer did not give him any explanation.
“I was
really surprised they knew my plan because I had only told my family and a friend
of mine,”he
said.
A former online
manager of a China-based website told the IFJ that the social networking websites Twitter and flickr had been blocked by authorities since June 2 without
warning or explanation. “The situation this year is even
worse than the year of 2008,”
he said.
“Restricting the right of people to express their views and to talk with
journalists breaks the promise made by authorities in China to permit and promote greater
openness and freedom of expression,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said.
“Clearly, Charter 08, which calls for freedom of expression among other
rights, has touched a nerve. The continuing efforts of authorities to shut down
all discussion about important issues violate the fundamental rights which the
Charter seeks for the people of China.”
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents over 600,000 journalists in
120 countries worldwide