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Journalist physically attacked covering dispute in China
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly criticises the attack on a female journalist in Jiangzi province on April 25, 2017.According to several reports, Xie Wanru, a journalist with Jiujiang TV was physically attacked as she was trying to report a dispute between an owner and a developer in Jiujiang city, Jiangxi. Wanru had received a complaint from the owner of Cheng Sheng Residential Building regarding delays from delays from Jiangxi Cheng Sheng Development Ltd in providing the deed of the apartment. Wanru when to investigate, and as she was recording the argument between the two parties, two unidentified persons used force to take away Wanru’s camera. During the scuffle, Wanru was hit. Wanru then tried to following the two parties into a meeting room, where he was blocked entry and pushed to the floor. It was unclear in Wanru sustained any injuries.The IFJ Asia Pacific office said: “Using violence to suppress media from exercising their duties is not a new thing in Mainland, China. It is really a sad and unacceptable phenomenon, despite Chinese authority’s claims that media have legal rights to exercise their duties enshrined in Chinese Constitution. We believe lip service is not enough to demonstrate the degree of respect and honour the Constitution promises.”We urge the President Xi and Premier Li use their utmost of efforts to educate Chinese society on respect for press freedom.We also demand the Police Bureau of Jiujiang City to investigate the case and bring the culprit to justice. The culprit should return all properties of the TV station; offer an apology to the subject journalist and offer additional compensation if necessary.