While violence and repression against the press continued unabated and even increased in some countries, public trust in journalists and the press suffered in much of the Americas, jeopardizing support for reforms of archaic press laws and opening the door for governments to take a more confrontational approach with the media.
Across Asia, press freedom conditions varied radically in 2003, from authoritarian regimes with strictly regulated state-controlled media in North Korea and Laos, to democratic nations with outspoken and diverse journalism in India and Taiwan. Members of the media throughout the region struggled against excessive government interference, outdated press laws, violent attacks, and imprisonment for their…
North Korea’s goal in a global nuclear crisis put the country on the front page of international papers throughout 2003. But the regime’s absolute control over news and information ensured that the world continued to know little about what happened inside the country’s tightly fortified borders.
There were 138 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2003 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is the same as last year. An analysis of the reasons behind this is contained in the introduction on page 10. At the beginning of 2004, CPJ sent letters of inquiry to…
New York, March 10, 2004—Authorities in Beijing interrogated three reporters from the Hong Kong-based Apple Daily newspaper yesterday and then deported them to Hong Kong, according to a spokesman for the paper. Apple Daily is the second-largest Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong. Early on the morning of March 9, security officials arrived at the journalists’…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the prolonged detention of journalist Jiang Weiping, who is currently serving a six-year prison sentence in Dalian, Liaoning Province. As of last month, Jiang had served half his sentence and is now eligible for parole under Chinese law. He should be released immediately.
New York, December 23, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the continued detention of South Korean freelance photographer Jae Hyun Seok. On December 19, a court in Shandong Province rejected an appeal filed by Seok and upheld his two year sentence on charges of human trafficking, according to CPJ sources. The appeal hearing, which…
New York, December 1, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release of Internet writer Liu Di but is gravely concerned that another Internet essayist, Du Daobin, has been charged with “subversion” and remains in jail. On November 28, Internet writer Liu Di, 23, was released from prison on bail. Liu, a psychology student…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent arrest of Internet essayist Du Daobin and is gravely concerned that his arrest could mark an escalation in the continuing crackdown on online speech in China.