CHINA
SEPTEMBER 25 2005 October 17, 2005 All journalists CENSORED China’s State Council and the Ministry of Information Industry issued severe restrictions for online news. Under the new regulations, any individual or organization that posts news or commentary must first be approved by the State Council Information Office. Bulletin board systems (BBS), a widely used medium…
Jail sentence for online writer, the third this year
New York, September 22, 2005— The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the conviction of freelance journalist Zheng Yichun, the third Internet journalist this year to be sentenced to jail by Chinese authorities. A court in the northeastern port city of Yingkou on Tuesday handed Zheng a seven-year jail term to be followed by three…
Chinese Internet writer’s hunger strike reaches three weeks
New York, September 21, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is extremely concerned about the health of imprisoned freelance writer Zhang Lin, who has been on a hunger strike for three weeks. Zhang’s lawyer Mo Shaoping told CPJ that his client plans to wage the strike for 100 days to protest an unjust, five-year prison sentence…
CHINA
SEPTEMBER 17, 2005 Posted October 11, 2005 Henan Shang Bao CENSORED Henan Shang Bao (Henan Business News) was suspended for a month from September 17 for “inaccurate reporting” on orders of the General Administration of Press and Publications and the Central Propaganda Department, according to the Singapore-based Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao. A reporter and an…
Yahoo gave e-mail account data used to imprison journalist
New York, September 7, 2005 The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news that information provided by Internet giant Yahoo Inc. to the Chinese authorities was used to help convict and jail journalist Shi Tao who wrote an e-mail about media restrictions. Shi was sentenced in April to 10 years in prison for…
Imprisoned Internet journalist on hunger strike
New York, September 6, 2005 The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the health of journalist Zhang Lin, who has been hospitalized since beginning a hunger strike last week to protest his imprisonment, local sources said. Zhang’s lawyer Mo Shaoping told CPJ that he would visit Zhang this week in Bengbu, in…
Imprisoned journalist Shi Tao’s family files for review of appeal
New York, August 25, 2005—The mother of a journalist serving a 10-year prison sentence on charges of “illegally leaking state secrets abroad” is seeking a review of her son’s court appeal. Gao Qinsheng, mother of imprisoned journalist Shi Tao, has alleged “serious procedural defects” in the proceeding, the human rights group Human Rights in China…
CPJ protests spy charge against Straits Times reporter
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the charge of espionage leveled on Friday against Straits Times reporter Ching Cheong, who has been detained since April without access to legal representation or his family. As an independent organization of journalists dedicated to defending our colleagues worldwide, we are gravely concerned that a pattern of using national security charges against journalists is seriously inhibiting the ability of the press to cover important events in China.
Internet essayist Zhang Lin sentenced to five years in prison
New York, August 2, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the five-year prison sentence, followed by four years of deprivation of political rights, handed to freelance Internet journalist Zhang Lin on charges of inciting subversion. Zhang Lin’s family and lawyer Mo Shaoping received notice this morning that the Intermediate People’s Court of Bengbu in central…
Internet journalist jailed for defamation
New York, July 26, 2005 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the imprisonment of Internet journalist Li Jianping on suspicion of defamation. Authorities detained Li on May 27 in Zibo, a city in northeastern China’s Shandong Province, and formally arrested him for defamation on June 30, according to ChinaEForum, a U.S.-based dissident news forum.…