Chinese Authorities extend censorship, step up reprisals against dissidents

Reporters Without Borders calls for an international reaction to the all-out censorship of information in China that includes website blocking, prior censorship of social networks and the dismissal of journalists who cover sensitive stories. The government is stepping up efforts to silence criticism and independent reporting, taking advantage of widespread indifference in the international community, especially UN bodies.

“It is clear from the latest events that the authorities are keeping their overall control of information with continuing consequences for those who try to use free speech to any degree,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Instead of relaxing controls, the government seems bent on reinforcing censorship of all kinds of media, including print, online, national and foreign. At the same time, the disturbing silence from the international community is not helping.

Chinese journalist wanted a divorce to continue relationship with Canadian MP, e-mail claims

A Chinese journalist wanted to get a divorce to pursue a relationship with Conservative MP Bob Dechert, an e-mail allegedly sent by the woman’s husband claims.

The person who hacked e-mails between the Mississauga MP and Xinhua News correspondent Shi Rong appended the note at the top of the package of e-mails, which were forwarded last week to 250 recipients on Shi’s contacts list.

“In order to love this MP, Shi Rong has not hesitated to ask to end her marriage while posted abroad,” the note said in Chinese. “This is the Shi Rong you should know about.“

Xinhua Reporter Shi Rong Wanted Divorce for Canadian MP, Email Alleges

A reporter with the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency wanted to divorce her husband to “continue her love affair” with Canadian member of Parliament Bob Dechert, says the email sent from her account to scores of government and media contacts last week.

The email says, in Chinese: “To continue her love affair with this member of Parliament, Shi Rong pitilessly asked to end her marriage while stationed overseas. This is the Shi Rong you should know about.”

The email sender leaves no name, but Shi has told the Globe and Mail that her account was hacked by her husband. Dechert himself said he believed the account had been hacked “as a part of an ongoing domestic dispute.”

Hong Kong TV news chief quits over Jiang Zemin death report

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong television station news chief and his deputy have resigned over an erroneous report that former Chinese president Jiang Zemin had died, the broadcaster said Tuesday.

Asia Television Ltd (ATV), one of two free-to-view broadcasters in the self-governed Chinese city, had cited unspecified sources on July 6 to report that the 85-year-old grandee had died.

It apologised for the error the following day, after China state media called the report “pure rumour”. Jiang reportedly still wields significant power in the Communist Party’s inner sanctum.

Writer Lü Gengsong Released from Prison, refuses Conditions of Deprivation of Political Rights

(HRIC) – Writer Lü Gengsong (吕耿松) was released from the Xijiao Prison in Hangzhou on August 23, 2011, after serving a four-year sentence following a conviction for “inciting subversion of state power.” Lü is also subject to one year of deprivation of political rights following his release, which includes prohibitions on publishing and accepting interviews.

According to an informed source, after his release, when officials in Lü’s Neighborhood Committee asked him to sign a guarantee that he would abide by the conditions of deprivation of political rights, Lü refused to sign. In addition, he tore up his copy of a document specifying the terms of his “community correction” (社区矫正), correctional measures that should not have been applied to him. The source also said that the Xijiao Prison administration has not returned to Lü the six diaries he kept in prison and the manuscript of a book he wrote.

Lü is the author of the History of Corruption in the Communist Party of China (中共贪官污吏), published in 2000, and many articles on topics including corruption, organized crime, and freedom of religion. Lü was detained on August 24, 2007, on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” and “leaking state secrets” and convicted on the first count on February 5, 2008. In ruling against Lü, the court cited 19 articles which he posted on overseas websites and a total of 470 words from those articles as evidence of his crime. In total, Lu wrote more than 226 articles and more than one million words.

Chinese magazine president and editor punished for citing historian

New York, August 19, 2011 (CPJ)–The demotion of a magazine president and suspension of an editor for an interview deemed critical of a Communist Party legend are the latest punitive steps taken by authorities against mainstream journalists in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Chen Zhong, president of the Guangzhou-based biweekly Nanfeng Chuang (Window on the South), was removed from his post, though not dismissed, and editor Zhao Lingmin was suspended during an internal meeting on Monday, international news reports said. These measures were related to Zhao’s July 25 interview with Taiwanese historian Tang Chi-hua, according to a letter the editor wrote to his colleagues that was published online by the Hong Kong University-based China Media Project.

Reporters Nearly Brawl With Chinese Officials During Joe Biden’s Beijing Speech

(Huffington Post)- American reporters on Joe Biden’s trip to China are reporting tensions with Chinese officials after they were shoved out of the vice president’s speeches on Thursday.

Biden was in China to talk economics with the largest holder of American debt after the U.S. debt agreement and the country’s credit rating downgrade. Reporters were scheduled to cover a welcome ceremony, and hear speeches by Chinese Vice President Xi Jingping and then Biden.

Biden was a few minutes into his speech when Chinese officials began directing reporters to the exits. Reporters insisted on staying, as their agreement had called for, but officials turned to bodily force to shove them out. According to the Los Angeles Times, Chinese officials locked arms and pushed forward in attempt to force reporters close to the exit.

Chinese journalists suspended for reporting train disaster

(Independent)– Two leading journalists have been suspended in China after their candid coverage of a train crash amid anger at the government for trying to muzzle critics of the country’s vaunted high-speed rail project.

One of the journalists was reportedly suspended for his reports on the crash on 23 July, when a high-speed train ploughed into the back of a stationary one, killing at least 40 and injuring more than 190. He had questioned whether China was putting too much emphasis on technological advance at the expense of safety.

The government has faced a wave of criticism over what caused the crash, and the delay by the country’s leaders in visiting the scene of the crash at the eastern city of Wenzhou.

Chinese TV producer Wang Qinglei suspended for crash reportage

New York, August 2, 2011 (CPJ)–The suspension of a state television producer for his coverage of last week’s fatal train crash sends a disturbing message to Chinese media outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Information authorities intensified media restrictions at the end of last week in an effort to restrain the unusually probing media treatment of the July 23 disaster. But their initial propaganda directives were widely ignored and the railway ministry’s response to the crash launched a flood of online criticism.

Chinese journalists reported that China Central Television’s “24 Hours” news producer  was suspended for his July 26 coverage of the crash. The show questioned the cause of the collision, featured footage of the victims in hospitals, and asked whether the country was putting progress before the welfare of the people. It is not clear whether the journalist’s suspension amounted to a permanent dismissal.

RSF: Communist Party celebrates longevity, but Chinese activist says it has gone deaf

As China’s Communist Party celebrates the 90th anniversary of its founding today, beginning with a flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square attended by 30,000 people, Reporters Without Borders insists that the toll from the crackdown of the past 90 days outweighs all the achievements of the past 90 years that the party has been proclaiming.

“The party’s efforts to present a festive image of national cohesion are designed to hide a disturbing deterioration in freedom of expression and information, especially during the last five months,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The ceremonies and political speeches must not be allowed to eclipse the wave of arrests of dissidents and human rights lawyers, and the censorship in Inner Mongolia.

Hong Kong Phoenix TV’s Famous Talker Dou Wentao ‘Disappeared’ Suddenly

Dou Wentao, a program host in the Phoenix TV, recently admitted that Phoenix TV is part of the system of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

He ‘disappeared’ after making the foregoing remarks. Phoenix denied it on its own TV for 4 consecutive days, emphasizing that it is only a listed Hong Kong company. The saying was criticized as biting the bullet. What system does Phoenix TV belong to then?

In Dou Wentao’s program, when chatting with guests Xu Zidong and Liang Wendao on the counterfeit issues in China, Dou suddenly said that Phoenix TV belongs to the CCP’s system. Xu then tried to help him by asking a question, but Dou did not seem to understand but continued to affirm his comments.

China Fears Intellectuals

Beijing is now said to have problems in the balance of the economic growth and social stability, and it is not the protests from farmers, authorities worry about, but from well-educated middle class. When facing crackdown and entice from CCP (Chinese Communist Party), intellectuals need to carefully weigh out their social responsibilities.

German Development Institute fellow Doris Fischer wrote for Times 『Beijing』s Panic Of Intellectuals.』 She said that CCP followed two guidelines, the social stability and the economic growth, trying to find the balance in between.

Three Chinese journalists held in China’s crackdown on activists

Three Chinese journalists have been detained or harassed by police in recent days amid a nationwide crackdown on activists and political dissent.

Guangdong-based journalist Wang Sijing was forcibly detained by Wuhan police after she traveled there to cover a story about psychiatric hospital inmates, she told Twitter users.

Wang, who writes for the 21st Century Economic Report, was released after her mobile phone was confiscated, but declined to comment on Friday.

Foreign Journalists Physically Assaulted by Beijing Police and Rebuked by Chinese Foreign Ministry

Rather than reporting news, foreign reporters in China have recently become the news. After being physically assaulted and harassed by Chinese police for standing in the streets, they were later subjected to an hour and a half of scolding by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson at a news conference.

The actions taken against foreign reporters have made it clear that this is a “highly sensitive” time for the CCP. The formerly “relaxed” rules for foreign journalists in China seem to no longer apply, and neither does the regime veil its disdain of the world’s free press.

China threatens foreign journalists for ‘illegal’ reporting

New York, March 3, 2011– Police threats to revoke foreign journalists’ visas and require advance permission for newsgathering are disturbing new efforts to restrict reporting on protests in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Police told some foreign journalists they could lose their accreditation and residence permits if they conduct “illegal” reporting in parts of central Beijing and Shanghai without permission, according to Reuters and other international news reports. Some journalists reported being told that advance consent would be required for any filming in China going forward. The warnings were given to journalists from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, the BBC, and other news outlets, in meetings held Wednesday and today, according to international news reports.

Government agents’ abusive Twitter messages target foreign media in China

By Madeline Earp/CPJ Senior Asia Research Associate –

California-based China Digital Times (CDT) reports new Chinese-language Twitter commentators have appeared in the last week. Twitter is generally blocked in China, but heavily used by activists who access it by means of proxy networks overseas. The recent arrivals are vocal supporters of the government’s efforts to tamp down nascent “Jasmine Revolution” rallies anonymously organized in Chinese cities the past two Sundays.

“Some of these accounts have forged the names of activists and even included avatar photos of dissidents and activists,” CDT reports. Yet the tone of the comments resembles that of the so-called “Fifty Cent Party,” an informal name given to commentators hired by local government authorities to promulgate propaganda in online forums, according to CDT. 

HRW: China Should Immediately Investigate Police Assaults Against Foreign Journalists

The Chinese government should immediately investigate a recent incident in which more than a dozen members of the foreign media were assaulted or intimidated by uniformed Chinese police and plainclothes thugs in downtown Beijing, Human Rights Watch said today. Failure to thoroughly investigate such incidents fosters a culture of official impunity for attacks against the press in China.

“It’s unacceptable that the police attack foreign media seeking to cover a public event,” said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The Chinese government should show it isn’t turning back the clock on media freedom by investigating this incident and holding the perpetrators accountable.”

Foreign journalists detained in China’s ‘Jasmine’ protests

New York, February 28, 2011— Chinese security officials’ concerted attack on the foreign press in a busy commercial street near Tiananmen Square in Beijing Sunday is a return to the restrictions international reporters faced before they were eased in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Police briefly detained more than a dozen foreign journalists and assaulted at least two at the site of a planned anti-government protest in Beijing on Sunday, according to international news reports. All were released after a few hours. Anonymous appeals for “Jasmine”-themed protests in Chinese cities, based on popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, began circulating online on February 19. The authors of the appeals call for an end to government corruption and an independent judiciary.

China Police violence against foreign journalists to cover the street protest in Beijing

Police officers roughed up foreign journalists trying to cover a protest yesterday on Beijing’s Wangfujing Street, including a Bloomberg News reporter who was badly beaten by plainclothes security men and had to be hospitalized with a head injury. Cameras were seized in order to delete photos and video. A dozen journalists were held for several hours in a police station. Media and websites including TV5, CNN and Linkedin were censored.

Inspired by the “Jasmine Revolution” pro-democracy demonstrations in Tunisia and elsewhere, the Beijing demonstration had been announced in advance on the Internet but hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes police officers, accompanied by police dogs, were deployed in major show of force to prevent it from taking place.

Censorship reaches new heights in China

Reporters Without Borders today denounced the Chinese government’s “gagging” of the population with increased censorship and other “unacceptable practices” that it said seemed to aim at “stamping out all forms of freedom of expression.”

Even as China became the planet’s second biggest economy, it still suffered from very serious environmental pollution and the authorities were targeting human rights campaigners by investing in the world’s most sophisticated censorship apparatus, known as “The Great Firewall,” the press freedom organisation said.

Foreign reporters roughed up near China activist Chen Guangcheng’s home

By Pascale Trouillaud (AFP)-

BEIJING — Foreign reporters were roughed up this week as they tried to reach blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who is under house arrest in eastern China, journalists said Wednesday.

Chen, a self-taught lawyer who gained world attention by exposing abuses in China’s “one-child” population control policy, has been under harsh restrictions since completing a more than four-year jail sentence in September.

“We were roughly pushed away from Chen’s home” by about a dozen men, said Brice Pedroletti, a journalist with French newspaper Le Monde.

China’s propaganda department of the Communist Party runs a new six-month campaign to educate journalists to censor themself, RSF condemns

Chinese journalists are to undergo six-month training courses that will teach them how to “eradicate false news, improve the feeling of social responsibility and reinforce journalistic ethics.”

“In short, to make journalists themselves actors in censorship,” Reporters Without Borders commented.

The initiative comes from the Propaganda department, directly linked to the Communist Party, and follows its announcement of 10 directives relating to the press in 2011.

Reporters Without Frontiers condemns this escalation in the control of information.

Chinese Journalist Chang Ping Who Defied the Censors and Wrote About Corruption Is Fired

SHANGHAI — A prominent newspaper columnist who challenged government censors by writing about corruption and political reform was dismissed Thursday by the Southern Daily Group, publisher of some of the country’s best-known newspapers.

The columnist, Chang Ping, said he was forced out because his bosses were “under pressure” from government propaganda authorities.

The executive editor, Zhuang Shenzhi, said that the publisher had decided not to extend Mr. Chang’s contract.