Freedom of Press: October 2008 Archives
TODAYonline.com (Singapore) | MediaCorp Press
October 21, 2008
Despite hopes the Olympics would improve human rights, China's crackdown on dissidents before and during the Games has likely set the stage for a lasting period of even tighter controls, government critics say.
Beijing-based AIDS campaigner Wan Yanhai is back at work following a government-imposed shutdown of his activities during the recent Summer Olympics, but he's treading carefully.
He said police have tailed him recently and the government last month applied new pressure with a surprise tax probe of his Aizhixing Institute, which advocates for the rights of AIDS victims, a touchy subject in China.
"With the Olympics over, it looks like they have even more time to give us trouble," Wan told AFP.
They also lament the failure of a Chinese to win this year's Nobel Peace Prize as another lost opportunity to advance human rights and bring greater openness to the communist-ruled nation.
Wan, 44, who works from a cramped and dingy office, said China was unlikely to loosen the tightened grip taken in the Games run-up after developing an even deeper understanding of dissident activities during the crackdown.
"That is important to understand," said Wan.
As the Games approached, critics say China harassed, detained or jailed dissidents, and ramped up security over the restive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.
Among those tried in court were Hu Jia, an AIDS and human rights campaigner and one of the best-known dissidents within China, who was sentenced to three and half years in jail in April on subversion charges.
Hu's wife Zeng Jinyan, who lives under unofficial house arrest in Beijing, said the situation was grim.
"A lot of people are scared (of speaking out)," she told AFP during a furtive recent interview.
Chinese authorities regularly insist that the cases of government critics arrested are handled properly under Chinese law, and has repeatedly rejected charges that it has unfairly cracked down on dissidents.
However, speculation was rife this month that the Nobel committee would seek to punish China's perceived heavy-handedness by awarding the peace prize to Hu or another Chinese rights campaigner.
The award went to Finnish peace negotiator Martti Ahtisaari, disappointing Chinese activists, who said Beijing's growing economic clout was muting vital foreign encouragement of rights campaigners here.
"If the Nobel Peace Prize had been given to (a Chinese), this would have been very encouraging. That is something that China needs," said Dai Qing, 68, a journalist who has campaigned against the harsh environment and social costs of China's Three Gorges Dam Project.
Dissident writer Liu Xiabo, who participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, scoffed at those who believed the Olympics would further human rights in China.
"Those people don't understand the Communist Party," he said, estimating that it could take 20 years before the party altered its approach of stamping out any voices that challenge its supremacy.
That could mean trouble ahead, he added, noting rising discontent and frequent outbursts of violence throughout China by marginalised segments of society.
"China needs major (political) reforms or there will be an explosion. But it is very hard for the government to do that," Liu said.
For now, activists such as Wan are keeping their heads down. He tries to work with the government as much as possible, the memory of a detention two years ago still fresh.
"After that experience, I've become more careful because you know, you have a responsibility to your family and, actually, the government has put a lot of pressure on me recently," he said.
By BBC News
17 October 2008
JAMES MILES
Correspondent for the Economist
"It was mainly a psychological difference, we had been widely flouting the rules before, leaving Beijing to report in the provinces without seeking advance approval as was officially required.
"So when the new regulations were introduced, we were still travelling just as much but without the fear of the knock on the door by the police, without the need to change from hotel to hotel to remain under the radar screen.
"But we were still frequently encountering local officials who either didn't know or said they didn't know about the new Olympic regulations or were determined to ignore them.
"There was one remarkable incident, shortly after the new regulations were introduced early last year, when I went to Henan province.
"As I expected, I was stopped by local officials. But I called the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, and remarkably, the local officials apologised to me and disappeared, leaving me with startled villagers who said this was the first time they'd ever managed to openly speak with foreign journalists.
"But since then, I've encountered the same kind of difficulties as before the regulations. A few days ago, I was out in the western region of Xinjiang, and was detained for several hours by local police.
"There are key parts in the country that remain very difficult to get into, and the most obvious one is Tibet. Tibet wasn't mentioned specifically in the Olympic regulations, in theory they apply to the whole of China, but orally Chinese officials said Tibet remained excluded and we still had to seek permission."
MICHAEL BRISTOW
BBC correspondent
"These rules were a small step forward in that they allowed foreign reporters to legitimately travel across China without first getting permission.
"But, like many rules and laws issued by the Chinese central government, they weren't always implemented properly.
"In fact, the Chinese authorities, whether in some far-flung village or in central Beijing, would simply ignore the rules if it suited them.
"They often intimidate foreign reporters - by detaining them or following them in unmarked cars - which prevents us doing our jobs.
"I was hassled by the authorities in Sichuan while trying to report on the grief of parents who lost children during the earthquake.
"And, like other foreign news organisations, under these rules the BBC was not welcome to roam Tibetan areas asking questions."
SHIOZAWA EIICHI
Reporter for the Japanese agency Kyodo News
"After the rules were introduced, we didn't need to get local government permission to travel to places, so that made my life a lot easier.
"Before, if we had no permission, we feared getting caught by the police. Once the rules came in, we could relax. Now we have to take care again.
"It's sometimes easier for me than it is for American or European reporters in China, because I am Asian and can sometimes pass for being Chinese.
"That means I can go to places that others would not be able to get to because they would be detected. Last week I went to Xinjiang.
"One bad aspect of the regulations was that it made it more difficult for us to interview local officials.
"Before the Olympic reporting rules, they would often organise events that would allow us to meet them.
CALUM MACLEOD
China correspondent for USA Today
"After the rules came in, they said we could organise things ourselves, which was not always easy."
"The biggest beneficiaries of these rules were TV and radio journalists because they require more people and equipment to do their jobs, and so are more visible.
"For the print media, it's easier to be less conspicuous.
"In the past, the rules stated that all foreign journalists needed approval before interviewing people outside Beijing and Shanghai, but these rules were largely ignored.
"What the new regulations did, in effect, was to legitimise reporting activities that were already taking place.
"Even while these rules were in place, I've still been detained in local areas and had my reporting restricted by officials who did not know the rules or did not care about them.
"But, as foreign journalists, it did mean we had a piece of paper to show them.
"We need these very minimal rules to be continued - and extended to China's own journalists."
BARBARA LUETHI
Asia correspondent for Swiss Television
"These rules looked good on paper, but they weren't implemented properly.
"In Beijing, when I was stopped I could pull out the rule booklet and tell the police I was allowed to be there.
"Or I could call the Foreign Ministry and they would tell the police to let you go.
But this didn't work in the countryside. When I went to a village to do a story, I would be stopped anyway. My tapes would be confiscated and would be taken to the police station.
"When the Olympics arrived, despite the new rules, the Chinese government was so nervous that they tightened up control or made new rules.
"The authorities would also threaten interviewees. They would not stop me, but this was another tool to control us."
Local journalists were not affected by the change in regulations, but they, too, face restrictions in their work, especially when working for state-run news sources.
Chinese journalist working for state-run media
(who wishes to remain anonymous)
"The government's attitude towards the media has always been on a need-to-know basis.
"Officials feel that if they have something to say, they hold a press conference. They have no need to answer journalists' questions individually. They don't work to the media's timings.
"The Olympics itself will not bring changes overnight, regardless whether its for the foreign or domestic media. It is just one among many things that will only change gradually.
"The government has done things differently for the Olympics, but I can't say whether they will regress or keep improving things after the Games.
"All I can say is, I haven't seen much change in how I do my job."
By Peter Harmsen | Agence France Presse | via UNCENSORED Yahoo! News
September 30, 2008
China knew about the contamination of milk products months ago but covered the scandal up to prevent it tarnishing the Beijing Olympics, according to journalists, rights groups and media critics.
The crisis broke in mid-September, a month after the Olympics, but several Chinese reporters had long known about babies being hospitalised after drinking tainted milk, yet were muzzled by the authorities, the critics say.
An editor at a respected southern China newspaper said that as early as July one of his reporters was investigating how milk powder might have been to blame for children developing kidney stones and falling seriously sick.
"As a news editor, I was deeply concerned because I sensed that this was going to be a huge public health disaster," Southern Weekend news editor Fu Jianfeng said on his blog.
"But I could not send any reporters out to investigate. Therefore, I harboured a deep sense of guilt and defeat at the time."
Fu's blog posting was later removed, although it could be read on some overseas Chinese websites. Fu himself could not be reached for comment.
An estimated 53,000 Chinese children have been sickened after the industrial chemical melamine was added to milk products, and four infants have died.
The first of the baby deaths was on May 1, more than four months before the scandal went public.
Starting with Sanlu milk powder, the scare has gone on to envelop numerous Chinese firms and international companies operating in China, including global giants Cadbury and Unilever.
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao vowed over the weekend to work to restore his country's reputation, saying it was facing the problem "candidly".
However, there are claims that Chinese authorities reverted to the familiar practice of squashing the negative news reports, apparently conscious of the damage it would do to the August 8-24 Olympics.
"Several Chinese journalists have said it is becoming more and more obvious that the authorities in July prevented an investigation into the toxic milk coming out so as not to tarnish China's image before the Olympics," said a statement by media rights group Reporters Without Borders.
Sanlu Group began receiving complaints of sick children as early as last December, a recent cabinet probe found in an apparent attempt to shift the blame for the delay.
It also said Communist officials in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu is based, delayed referring the matter to higher authorities for more than a month after Sanlu finally told them of the problem on August 2, six days before the Beijing Games began.
"It is a concern that the first cases appeared early, but were concealed during the Olympics. A perfect environment was needed for the Games," said a Western product-safety expert who asked not to be named.
Despite the World Health Organisation and United Nations raising concerns about the delay in exposing the risks, rights groups say the Chinese government is continuing to silence reporters, suppressing media coverage vital to determining blame and preventing a recurrence.
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