New York, October 21, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the three-year sentence recently handed down to Internet essayist Luo Yongzhong on charges of subversion. Luo, who has written numerous articles that have been distributed online, was detained on June 14 in Changchun, Jilin Province. On July 7, he was formally arrested. On October…
New York, August 28, 2003—South Korean journalists Kim Seung Jin and Geum Myeong Seok were released and deported from China to South Korea after three weeks in detention, according to international news reports. On August 7, free-lance cameraman Kim and photographer Geum were arrested in Shanghai while accompanying North Korean refugees who were attempting to…
New York, August 21, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the continued detention of South Korean journalists Kim Seung Jin and Geum Myeong Seok in Shanghai. On August 7, Shanghai police arrested Kim and Geum as they were filming North Korean refugees who were attempting to gain asylum by forcibly entering a school run…
Dear Minister Zhang: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing once again to draw your attention to the unjust imprisonment of South Korean photographer Jae Hyun Seok, whose appeal may be heard later this month. Seok, a well-known free-lance photojournalist who worked regularly for The New York Times and Geo magazine, among other publications, was arrested in January in Shandong Province while documenting the plight of North Korean refugees. On May 22, he was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of human smuggling.
New York, June 23, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the Chinese government’s decision to ban the bimonthly business news magazine Caijing. According to Reuters, the June 20 edition of the influential magazine was barred from newsstands last week. Although the magazine reached subscribers during the weekend, authorities ordered additional copies held at the…
New York, June 20, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the Chinese government’s closure of the weekly newspaper Beijing Xinbao and other restrictions that appear to be part of a wider crackdown against the media in China. Beijing Xinbao, which is run by the national newspaper Workers’ Daily, was closed and its editors were…
New York, May 28, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns today’s sentencing of Internet journalists Xu Wei, Jin Haike, Yang Zili, and Zhang Honghai. This morning, the Beijing Intermediate Court sentenced Xu Wei and Jin Haike to ten years in prison on subversion charges, according to the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights in…
New York, May 22, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the sentencing of South Korean free-lance photojournalist Jae Hyun Seok to two years in prison. Today, a court in Yantai, Shandong Province, sentenced Seok, who works regularly for The New York Times and South Korea’s Geo magazine, to a two-year prison term on charges…
New York, May 21, 2003—On May 17, free-lance journalist Jiang Qisheng was released from prison after completing his four-year prison term. Jiang was arrested on May 18, 1999, after writing a series of essays and petitions marking the 10th anniversary of the June 4, 1989, military crackdown on peaceful protesters in the capital, Beijing. On…