The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is dismayed to learn that several
foreign media websites, including Hong Kong newspaper websites and a legal
website, have been blocked in China.
Foreign
media websites including the BBC Chinese portal, Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao, Radio Free Asia and Voice of
America, which were unblocked during the lead-up to the Olympic Games in August,
have been blocked once more.
A legal
website, www.fatianxia.com,
has also been ordered to close after posting several articles including the Charter
08, a joint statement signed by several hundred Chinese journalists, writers,
lawyers and activists calling on the National People’s Congress Standing
Committee to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR).
The
administrator of the site was told the closure was due to breaches of domestic
law, and the site’s hosting service took down the site on December 16.
Zan Aizong,
a well-known blogger who also contributed to the site, told the IFJ that his
blog has also been blocked after he posted the Charter.
In 2007, China
made internet service providers to sign a “self-discipline pact” which forces them
to censor content and to request the real identities of all bloggers.
China also detained and arrested several of the signatories to the Charter, sparking
international protests.
“The IFJ
is dismayed that China’s
authorities are backtracking on their commitments to allow free access to the
internet,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White
said.
“While China
claims to respect basic freedoms, it must put its words into action.”
The IFJ urges
China
to unblock access to the websites concerned and allow bloggers and online
journalists to work as normal.
The IFJ is
also distressed to learn that Wai Wing-hong, a journalist from Ming Pao, was assaulted by construction
workers after taking photos of an industrial accident at the City University of
Hong Kong on December 16. Wai sustained injuries to his head, waist and hands.
The editor-in-chief
of Ming Pao, Cheung Kin-bor, and the Hong
Kong Journalists’ Association (HKJA), an IFJ affiliate, condemned the violence.
“The IFJ
urges the police to investigate this case and demands an apology and
compensation for the journalist concerned. Journalists should know they are
safe to report without fear of attack.”
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents over 600,000 journalists in
120 countries worldwide