China and the Beijing Olympics

Way back in 2001 when China was bidding for the 2008 Olympics, the "Communiqué" quoted Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which said that "there are enough democratic countries to avoid...

Authorities censor all talk of Tiananmen Square anniversary

Less than a week after Google unveiled a feature to help Chinese Internet users dodge censorship, China has blocked all Internet access to search terms relating to the 23rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

New law allows secret detentions; take action for jailed Tibetan filmmaker

China has approved changes to its criminal code that give the police powers to hold journalists and others who discuss sensitive national issues in secret locations for up to six months without charge, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Freedom House, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Authorities put Tibet on virtual lockdown

In response to a growing number of ethnic Tibetans setting themselves on fire, China has imposed a media blackout on Tibet and the provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai, say Reporters Without Borders (RSF), PEN American Center and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Dissidents who posted "subversive" articles online get up to 10 years in prison

Officials in China have handed down a 10-year jail sentence to Chen Xi, the second dissident in three days to be convicted of inciting subversion through articles he posted online, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Another democracy campaigner, Chen Wei, was sentenced to nine years on similar charges, report RSF as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International. They are some of the heaviest sentences for inciting subversion since the Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo was jailed for 11 years on Christmas Day 2009, say the groups.

Journalist reporting on "gutter oil" stabbed to death

Two unemployed Chinese residents have been arrested today, 21 September, in the fatal stabbing of 30-year-old TV journalist Li Xiang. While police in the central city of Luoyang, Henan province, are calling the murder a robbery, IFEX members are urging Chinese authorities to investigate possible links between the killing and the journalist's investigative reporting.

Ai Weiwei and other dissidents released, but questions remain

The release of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei last week was a welcome surprise, as was the release a couple of days later of his lesser-known associates, and that of renowned activist Hu Jia. But it also leaves troubling, unanswered questions about his arrest, detention and conditions of release - and what is happening to other jailed dissidents who do not have the benefit of an international campaign behind them, say IFEX members.

Crackdown on dissidents harshest in recent years

Following a response to calls for a "Jasmine Revolution" in China, police have launched a massive security clampdown on activists in what some critics are calling the most severe in recent years, report PEN American Center, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

New IFJ report identifies more than 80 censorship orders in China in 2010

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has uncovered a series of orders issued by the Chinese authorities in 2010 that blocked information on public health, disasters, corruption and civil unrest, from defective vaccines to deadly explosions.

Freedom House launches weekly China media bulletin

Did you hear how Li Changchun, China's fifth most powerful man, was named by U.S. diplomats as the brains behind the hacker attacks on Google's email systems last year? Or how China blacked out a Japanese news report on the Nobel Peace Prize this week? Find these stories - all in one place - in Freedom House's "China Media Bulletin", a new weekly digest of press freedom and censorship news on China and its neighbours.

Government blocks news of Nobel Peace Prize winner

The Chinese authorities are scrambling to block broadcasts of the news that this year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the country's most famous dissident, Liu Xiaobo, report Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Journalists beaten and detained for ignoring censorship orders

Defiant and resilient, Chinese journalists continue reporting on stories the regime would prefer to conceal. In their effort to inform the public, journalists are often assaulted and arrested, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Stories of a deadly aircraft crash that killed 42 people, a young woman gang-raped by individuals with links to the police, and environmental damage and human suffering in the aftermath of the construction of a dam are a few examples of the reportage that evade censorship. This culture of media repression has spread to private-sector companies targeting journalists, with authorities protecting companies at the expense of media freedom.

Government ramps up Internet control and leans on Hong Kong to erase dissent

In a series of surgical strikes against Internet freedom, Chinese authorities have imposed restrictions on micro-blogging services and shut down an estimated 60 blogs by prominent legal and political commentators, report Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). China's influence is also reducing space for dissent and independent press in Hong Kong, says a new report by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA).

US companies refuse to bow to online surveillance

Two US companies are defying Chinese censors. Internet company GoDaddy announced on 24 March that it will no longer sell websites with Chinese domain names because of the extreme controls demanded by Chinese authorities, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Two days earlier, Google confirmed that it would no longer censor the Chinese version of its search engine, report RSF, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Human Rights Watch. Google will be redirecting viewers to its uncensored Hong Kong site.

Authorities ruthlessly censor independent reporting

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has released a new report that highlights the arbitrary manner in which Chinese authorities forbid reporting on numerous issues, manipulating the flow of information. The Chinese media are routinely pummelled with restrictions, leaving very little room for independent news gathering.

Google makes free expression the focus of doing business

IFEX members have applauded Google's decision to stop censoring the Chinese version of its search engine and its new demand for unfettered Internet access. The company's stand for greater free expression came after it found China-based hackers had gone after the Google Mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists in highly sophisticated and targeted attacks.

Dissident writer sentenced to 11 years in prison

Chinese dissident and acclaimed writer Liu Xiaobo was sentenced on 25 December to 11 years in prison and two years deprivation of political rights for exercising the right of free expression, reports the PEN American Center. Members of PEN gathered on the steps of the New York Public Library on New Year's Eve in a call for action to release Xiaobo.

Journalists protest savage attacks on colleagues

A number of journalists from Hong Kong are among those who have been brutally assaulted and harassed in mainland China in the last two weeks as authorities continue to control independent coverage of ethnic violence as well as local crime, report the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Beijing backs off from filtering tool; Uighur protests blamed on Internet

China has indefinitely postponed the rollout of its much criticised Internet filtering tool, say the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and news reports.

Beijing tells computer makers to install web blocking software

China is planning to force computer manufacturers to install software on all new personal computers that would filter out "unhealthy" information, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).