Tag: Press freedom

Hong Kong Publisher to Stand Trial This Week Under Beijing’s Dissident Crackdown

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HONG KONG —  The trial of Hong Kong’s most famous activist publisher who was arrested under China’s crackdown on dissidents will start Monday after being delayed for more than a year. Jimmy Lai, 76, broke into the city’s once freewheeling media world about three decades ago, armed with the belief that delivering information is equal to protecting freedom. Now, his own freedom is at stake as he faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law imposed by Beijing following the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Lai is charged…

World watches as landmark Jimmy Lai trial set to begin in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong’s global reputation will be tested this week when the long-delayed trial of the pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai gets under way. Lai, who turned 76 in jail this month, is charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as sedition. If convicted, which experts say is highly likely, the British national faces spending the rest of his life in prison. The trial starts on Monday, two weeks after another landmark hearing came to an end on 4 December. The Hong…

China News Outlet Closure Reflects Political Sensitivities Over Beijing, Leadership Says

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Washington —  Depending on who is asked, the now-defunct China Project news outlet is either an agent of Beijing, an anti-Chinese media brand, or the victim of a bad business model. The allegations leveled at the English-language news website over its seven years of operation reflect what analysts say is a shift in the media environment in favor of China hawks, which also makes covering the country all the more challenging. The mixture of a massive state-led economy, poor human rights record, authoritarian government and the threat of war over…

David Cameron urged to tell China to free Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai

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Foreign secretary David Cameron is being urged to demand the release of newspaper tycoon Jimmy Lai as the British national prepares for a high-profile trial in Hong Kong this month. Lai, 76, is facing a life sentence, accused of colluding with foreign forces under the draconian national security law introduced by Beijing in 2020 following mass protests. Sebastien Lai wants to meet David Cameron to discuss his jailed father, Jimmy. Photograph: Free Jimmy Lai Campaign His son Sebastien has demanded that Cameron, who has faced controversy over his links to…

Hong Kong Paper Says ‘Missing’ Reporter is Safe

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The South China Morning Post has responded to concerns raised over the whereabouts of one of its reporters, saying the journalist is “taking personal leave.” Friends of Minnie Chan raised concerns to the Japanese news outlet Kyodo News about her well being, saying the journalist has become unreachable after traveling to Beijing to report on the Xiangshan Forum. The three-day international security forum concluded on October 31. But in an email Friday to VOA, the South China Morning Post told VOA that Chan’s “family has informed us that she is…

Hong Kong Reporter Missing in China, Japanese Outlet Says

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An award-winning reporter from the South China Morning Post has gone missing following a work trip to China at the end of October, the Japanese news outlet Kyodo News reported on Thursday, citing unidentified people close to the issue. Minnie Chan, who covers defense and diplomacy in China, has become unreachable after traveling to Beijing to report on the Xiangshan Forum. The three-day international security forum concluded on October 31. Chan’s last story, about China’s response to the Israel-Hamas war, was published on November 1. The South China Morning Post,…

China seeks to stifle public grief for former premier Li Keqiang

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Public tributes to China’s former premier Li Keqiang, who died on Friday, are being strictly controlled as the government seeks to prevent a mass outpouring of grief that could lead to social unrest. Li suffered a sudden heart attack in Shanghai and died in the early hours of Friday, according to Xinhua news agency. There have been public displays of grief, particularly in his home city of Hefei, in Anhui province, where hundreds of mourners laid flowers for one of their most significant sons. Social media is awash with tributes…

US vows to support ‘free media’ in Pacific as concern over China influence grows

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Regional media has emerged as a new front in the contest between the US and China in the Pacific, as Washington said it will support “free media” while warning of the dangers of Beijing’s efforts to manipulate information around the world. During a visit to countries in the Indo-Pacific in October, the US under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, Elizabeth Allen, said Washington was “prioritising the support of independent media” across the region. Speaking to the Guardian in Sydney, Allen said the support would take “different forms’’ and…

Arundhati Roy is being hounded by the Indian state. This is a test case for its democracy | Meena Kandasamy

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The climate for media and free speech in India is in a dangerous place. The country is already ranked 161 out of 180 countries in the press freedom index, but the actions of prime minister Narendra Modi’s government in the past few weeks have shown how many more clampdowns await. Desperately in need of distraction tactics – given the many failures in governance, tackling inflation or delivering jobs – the regime is after a fresh dose of sound and fury against political opponents. And so a decade-old case has been…

Journalist Says China Jailed Her for Breaking Embargo 

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washington —  An Australian Chinese journalist detained for over three years in China said Tuesday she was jailed for breaking an embargo by just a few minutes. Cheng Lei, a former anchor at the Chinese state-run TV channel CGTN, was detained in Beijing in August 2020. A closed-door trial later took place in 2022. But details of what led to that arrest had not previously been disclosed. China’s Ministry of State Security said that a foreign organization approached Cheng in May 2020, and she provided them with state secrets. A…