The
International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is disturbed to learn that the Beijing Security Bureau has confiscated
copies of a free magazine.
Bureau
officers confiscated The Holy Mountain,
a Christian magazine published by Zhongfu Holy Mountain Institute, in Beijing on October by 27.
They gave no explanation.
According
to Radio Free Asia, Fan Yafeng, who is in charge of the magazine, said the
printing company advised him that security bureau officers raided the printing
premises and removed all the magazines.
The
action is reminiscent of the confiscation of The Holy Mountain during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
Fan, a well-known legal scholar and activist for religious
freedom, is a signatory to Charter 08, the pro-democracy document signed by
prominent journalists, writers, activists and academics. Liu Xiaobo, an initiator
of the Charter 08 statement, was sentenced to 11 years’ jail on December 25,
2009, accused of agitation to subvert the Government. Liu was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize last month.
Fan
told Radio Free Asia that the security bureau may intend to charge him with illegally
publishing a book for commercial sale. The
Holy Mountain is a free magazine distributed to the Christian community in Beijing since 2007.
The
move came as it was reported that a Christian writer, Yu Jie, and his wife had
been placed under house arrest. According to a Twitter message on October 27, Yu
said that Beijing
security bureau officers had not permitted him to leave home or his wife to
consult a doctor.
“The
IFJ urges China’s
authorities to recognise that the confiscation of the magazine breaches Article
35 of China’s Constitution, which enshrines the right to a free press,” IFJ General
Secretary Aidan White said. “
“The
IFJ calls on the Beijing
Security Bureau to return the magazines to the publisher immediately, and
refrain from further such breaches of the Constitution.”
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents more than 600,000 journalists in 125 countries
Find the
IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific