Press Release: Hong Kong
February 4,
2013
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) launches the fifth annual
China Press Freedom Report titled Media at Risk: Press Freedom in
China 2012, in Hong Kong today. The report reviews press freedom in China in 2012 and provides an important insight
into the situation of press freedom in Mainland China and Hong Kong.
2012 saw an escalation in the efforts to control information and censor
the media, with the management of media outlets in China receiving up to dozen restrictive
orders a day and a number of journalists who were suspended or forced to leave
their jobs due to pressure from Chinese authorities. In 2011 the media situation
in China was described as being in the ‘Ice Age’ and this characterization
continued in 2012. In the cases involving Wang Lijun, Gu Kailai and Chen
Guangcheng, mainstream media were either completely prevented from reporting on
the issues or only permitted to republish those articles originally published
in official media. In one case, a government official continuously refused to
provide information that was in the public’s interest using the excuse that it was
a “state secret.” The suppressive hand of the authorities stretched to control online
media in 2012, with the government targeting microblogs. A number of bloggers were
detained for days when they shared messages that were termed sensitive. A
veteran journalist, Yu Chen, was forced to leave his job when he expressed his opinions
online about the role of military service. Additionally, the comment function
on the Weibo accounts of two mainstream online media organizations were blocked
for a few days when they published articles that offended the authorities.
Media at Risk: Press Freedom in
China 2012 also recounts restrictions placed on foreign
journalists working in Mainland China. Many were harassed and others were
beaten as they conducted their professional duties. In one case, unidentified
people broke into the rooms of two foreign journalists while they were staying
at an international chain hotel and destroyed their computers and cameras. Furthermore
Chinese authorities refused work visas to foreign journalists in response to
the content of their reports. According to a survey conducted by the FCCC, over the
past two years 27 foreign journalists have been forced to wait more than
four months for visa approvals. Thirteen of them had to wait for more
than six months and three journalists who applied in 2009 have yet to receive
any response from the authorities. Chris Buckley of the
New York Times had to leave China at the end of 2012 because he was unable to
obtain a work visa although he had applied months before. The websites of two leading
international media organizations were blocked when they published information
about the wealth of Xi Jinping and Wen Jiabao’s families. Additionally, Tibet
and Xinjiang are completely isolated from independent media access.
Having monitored press freedom of China over the years, the IFJ has
noted that the Chinese authorities are using newer and more innovative methods
to track the activities of journalists, increasing the risk faced by
journalists in carrying out their work.In 2012, the
Central authority assigned two party officials to oversee the media in Guangdong
Province, once known as the most liberal province in China. Tou Zhen, former
Xinhua Deputy Editor, was appointed as the Chief of the Guangdong Propaganda
Department, and Yan Jian, the former Deputy Chief of the Guangdong Propaganda
Department and former Publisher of Xinhua in Guangdong Bureau, was appointed as
the Communist Party Secretary of the Southern Press Group. They were involved
in a scandal at the beginning of 2013 where the content of a newspaper was
censored before it was published.
In the past few years, the Chinese authorities have tried to be more transparent
by arranging press conferences and using online media to disseminate
information to the public. However the manner in which the press conferences
were conducted did more to restrict media freedom than promote it. During the
trials of Wang Lijun and Gu Kailai a press conference served to divert media
away from the courtroom into a press conference where a prepared statement was
read out and the press were not allowed to ask questions.
The IFJ learns that the police have also been directly involved in the
suppression of media. In one instance the police arranged an interview for
media under heavy surveillance which was probably the first time that an
interviewee was forced to accept an interview by the police and illegally detained
two journalists in Hong Kong and interrogated them for 44 hours. It is also
reported that the Police cooperated with some unidentified people in blocking media
from exercising their duties by accusing them of committing a crime.
The censorship of online media also increased in 2012. At the end of
2012, the Standing Committee enacted a law to legalize “Online Real Name
Registration” which enables the Authority to shift the onus of censorship onto
the internet service provider.
The suppression also extended to Hong Kong, where the authorities chose
to buy the entire consignment of a book when it was published because they were
unable to control the book’s publisher. A journalist was detained by police
after he posed a question to the President of China, a photographer was
criminally charged, two journalists were assaulted by protestors and two media
outlets were attacked.
It was also revealed that the media in Hong Kong in 2012 faced
significant interference by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Leung Chun-Ying
and other politicians. During the Chief Executive and Legislative Council elections,
the media faced unprecedented interference. Sing
Pao Daily practiced self-censorship under influence and during the Legislative
Council Election media received a ‘white-list’ of pro-establishment candidates
whom they were expected to promote unconditionally. Additionally, unlike the
earlier transparent and cooperative approach demonstrated by the government and
Chief Executive of Hong Kong when dealing with the media, 2012 has seen an
emerging and troubling trend of evading all contact with independent media.
In Macau, a group of journalists were forced out of their jobs when they
voiced their anger over the escalating self-censorship of the media in Macau. For
instance a journalist was sacked after he disclosed that his employer
self-censored and journalists were prevented from covering a protest about the
suppression of media freedom.
Three journalists working in the region contributed to writing of the Media at Risk: Press Freedom in China 2012 report, and their articles reveal the difficulties faced by the media
industry.
“Press freedom is a human right and the media must be able to perform
their professional duties without fear and intimidation” The IFJ Asia-Pacific
Office said. “The Government does not have a right to prevent the free
dissemination of information that is in the public interest, and has a responsibility
to protect the free access to information.”
The IFJ urges the General Secretary of China Xi Jinping and Chief
Executive of Hong Kong Leung Chun-ying to adopt recommendations contained in
the Media at Risk: Press Freedom in China 2012 report, and uphold press freedom and freedom of expression.
Copies of the digital report
will be available online and at the press conference.
For media enquiries, please to contact the IFJ’s
representative Ms Serenade Woo at (852) 9145-9145. orIFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents 600,000 journalists in 125 countries
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