China

Sun Hongjie, a newspaper reporter based in Kuitun, in the northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang, is in deep coma since Monday as a result of the head injuries he received when he was attacked by four or five men on the night of December 18. Sun worked for the provincial daily Beijiang Chenbao (Beijang Morning Newspaper), Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has...

The Chinese authorities refuse to say what has become of journalist and human rights activist Hada, who should have been released from Inner Mongolia’s Chifeng prison on December 10 on completing a 15-year jail sentence. There has also been no direct word from his wife Xinna and his son Uiles, who were arrested 10 days ago. Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has called...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Chinese government to end its pointless attempts to block the news by blacking out domestic and foreign media coverage of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's announcement awarding jailed human rights activist Liu Xiaobo the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. According to foreign news agencies' reports from China, news of the award is almost non...

Chinese investigative journalist Xie Chaoping was released on bail in Weinan (in Shaanxi province) on September 17 for lack of evidence. After being held for 29 days for writing a book about the Sanmenxia Dam titled The Great Migration, he has been able to return to Beijing. “Xie’s release is excellent news but now he must he now be quickly cleared of the charges of illegal commercial activity...

China's colossal Sanmenxia dam has a new victim – Xie Chaoping, a journalist who was arrested without a warrant in the northeastern city of Weinan on August 19 after writing a book about the fate of those displaced by the dam, according to delayed reports. He is now reportedly being held by the Public Security Department in Beijing. Much has been written about this dam, a major source of...

Chinese journalists are increasingly finding themselves the targets of threats and censorship by private-sector companies (and some state companies as well). Several cases with serious implications for press freedom in China have illustrated this privatisation of censorship and violence against journalists in the past few weeks. The phenomenon is not new, but it is tending to grow in an alarming

China’s colossal Sanmenxia dam has a new victim – Xie Chaoping, a journalist who was arrested without a warrant in the northeastern city of Weinan on August 19 after writing a book about the fate of those displaced by the dam. He is now reportedly being held by the Public Security Department in Beijing. Much has been written about this dam, a major source of environmental damage and human...

Two-year jail sentences have been imposed on Sonam Rinchen and Sonam Dhondup, two students who helped to edit the Tibetan student magazine Namchak. Two other editors of the magazine, who were arrested at the same time as them in March, are still awaiting trial, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. Their conviction has coincided with other cases of...

Authorities have passed a restrictive order that has stopped journalists from going to report on Sunday's deadly mudslide in north-west China. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has learnt that a restrictive order was sent by China's Central Propaganda Department on August 8 which stated that no journalists should be sent to the vicinity of the mudslide in Zhouqu County, Gannan...

The All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) wants better protection for journalists' rights after a reporter was beaten when attempting to interview a stand-up comedian, according to People's Daily. "It is imperative to safeguard journalists' legitimate rights to interview and stop any misconduct that interferes with journalists' legitimate interviews," said a brief announcement posted on the...