IFJ Appeal to UN Over Abuse of Journalists Covering 'Jasmine Revolution' Protests

March 8, 2011

 

Ms Navanethem Pillay

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Palais des Nations

CH-1211 Geneva 10

Switzerland

Via email: [email protected]

 

 

 

Re: China’s Abuse of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

 

 

Dear Ms Pillay,

 

We are writing to express our grave concerns regarding the latest suppression of press freedom in China, which began on February 20, 2011.

 

We understand that China has a different understanding about press freedom and its roles and responsibilities. However, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China extended the rights of all foreign, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan journalists reporting the news in China in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and, after international pressure, upheld these changes after the Games. The IFJ believes that China is obliged to keep the promises made to journalists and media workers in order to ensure robust independent reporting of events in the country.

 

According to regulation 17 of Regulations of the People’s Republic of China Concerning Reporting Activities of Permanent Offices of Foreign Media Organisations and Foreign Journalists; regulation 6 of Regulations for Hong Kong and Macau and regulation 7 for Taiwan after the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2009 respectively, journalists are required to obtain an interviewee’s consent when preparing reports.

 

The IFJ learned that serious violations of these regulations began in February 2011 when journalists were harassed, assaulted and detained by the authorities, in many cases by police officers, simply for reporting the news. A number of foreign journalists were blocked from entering a village in Shangdong when they attempted to interview human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who was jailed for campaigning against China’s one-child policy and was released in September 2010 after completing his four and a half year sentence only to be immediately placed under house arrest with his wife. The journalists were pushed and had stones thrown at them by plainclothes officers.

 

The IFJ is greatly concerned that journalists were targeted when covering “jasmine revolution” protests in the country on February 20 and 27. Journalists from non-mainland media outlets including Bloomberg TV, BBC, CNN, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, German-based broadcaster ARD, Voice of America, Hong Kong-based broadcasters including ATV, TVB, Cable TV, RTHK and Taiwan-based SanliTV were harassed, assaulted, detained and interrogated by police of China. In one case a Bloomberg TV reporter was pushed to the ground by police and then assaulted by an unknown attacker. Police officers witnessing the attack failed to intervene and assist the journalist. Journalists were also threatened by police officers that working visas might not be extended if they continued to report on the protests.

 

The regulations that apply to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan journalists working in China only require that journalists work in accordance with the law. Under the regulations, China will protect journalists’ lawful rights and facilitate news coverage and reporting activities that are carried out according to the law. However in recent weeks police not only failed to protect journalists but also laid down a series of new rules designed to specifically block journalists’ rights under the law. Police demanded that journalists registered before reporting from particular public areas such as Wangfujing, Beijing, a proposed destination for further ‘jasmine’ protests.

 

Chinese writers Ran Yunfei and Ye Du were detained on February 20 and are understood to have been charged by police with inciting subversion of state power without explanation. The writers’ family members strongly believe they were charged because police presumed they were involved in the ‘jasmine’ protests. The two writers have not yet been released and there are reports that other bloggers and writers are also being held in detention.

 

According to Article 19 of the UDHR, every person has the right to freedom of expression and rights to access and distribute information. Since February however, all mainland China media has been ordered not to report the ‘jasmine’ protests while foreign media experienced high levels of harassment and acts of intimidation from China’s authorities as outlined above. The result is the great majority of citizens of mainland China have been left in the dark about what has been happening in their communities.

 

The IFJ strongly believes that China, as a permanent member of United Nations and a current member of the Human Rights Council, must stand up as a progressive role model to other nations by upholding universal covenants to which it subscribes. Essential to this is the need for China to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in order to allow citizens’ fundamental right to freedom of expression.

 

We welcome the Human Rights Council’s recent expression of deep concern regarding the uprising in Libya and journalists who were harassed in Egypt and Libya. The IFJ respectfully requests that the Council adopt an equally strong position on the recent developments in China, as the strength and the intensity of the recent clampdown is a clear sign of regressive moves by the country’s administration regarding freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Aidan White

General Secretary