|
|
28 May 2008
Chinese
Journalist Wins 2008 Golden Pen of Freedom
 Li
Changqing, a Chinese
journalist who was
imprisoned for
alerting the public
to an outbreak of
dengue fever before
the authorities, has
been awarded the
2008 Golden Pen of
Freedom, the annual
press freedom prize
of the World
Association of
Newspapers.
It is the second
consecutive year
that a Chinese
journalist has
received the award,
an unprecedented
decision that
reflects the
repressive
conditions for media
in China. The 2007
laureate was Shi
Tao, the Chinese
journalist who was
imprisoned after the
American search
engine company Yahoo
provided information
to the Chinese
authorities that led
to his arrest.
"The persecution of
Mr Li for reporting
on a serious health
threat reveals the
nonsense and
bankruptcy of the
Chinese regime¨s
controlled press
policies," the Board
of the Paris-based
WAN, meeting in
Vienna, said in
making the award.
"The Chinese
authorities have a
long history of
covering up events
they prefer to keep
secret, and Mr Li¨s
courageous decision
to report on this
outbreak, knowing
the possible
consequences, is an
inspiration to
journalists
everywhere," the
Board said.
The award will be
presented at the
World Newspaper
Congress and World
Editors Forum, the
global summit
meetings of the
world¨s press, to be
held in Göteborg,
Sweden, from 1 to 4
June next
http://www.wansweden2008.com.
The award comes a
day after WAN
launched a campaign
to win the release
of all jailed
Chinese journalists,
and to hold the
Chinese authorities
to the promises of
reforms they made
when they were
awarded next
summer¨s Olympics.
More information can
be found at http://www.wan-press.org/article155...
Mr Li, a reporter
and deputy news
director of the
Fuzhou Daily in
Fuzhou City, Fujian
Province, was
sentenced to three
years in prison in
January 2006, for
"fabricating and
spreading false
information" after
being detained
without charges for
nearly a year. The
charges stem from an
anonymous report
posted on Boxun News
Network, a
Chinese-language
website based in the
United States.
Due to censorship
and restrictions
imposed by the
Communist Party
Propaganda
Department on
sensitive social
issues, no reports
of the outbreak in
Fuzhou of dengue, a
viral,
mosquito-borne
disease, had been
reported in the
Chinese press. Nor
had health officials
officially announced
the outbreak.
Chinese authorities
had previously been
criticised for
suppressing reports,
with disastrous
consequences, of an
outbreak of Severe
Acute Respiratory
Syndrome, or SARS,
that occurred in
Guandong Province in
2002.
Mr Li reported on
government
corruption and other
sensitive social
issues before being
imprisoned. He was
detained in 2005 on
suspicion of
"inciting subversion
of state power",
allegedly for
writing in support
of whistleblower
Huang Jingao, a
Communist Party
official who
publicly denounced
corruption among
local officials and
was imprisoned on
corruption charges
as a result. Though
Mr Li was never
charged in that
case, he was held
for more than 11
months, until he was
tried and convicted
for reporting on the
dengue fever
outbreak.
China is one of the
world¨s largest
jailers of
journalists, with
about 40 behind
bars. Other
journalists have
been harassed,
detained, threatened
or dismissed from
their jobs because
of their reporting.
Media outlets are
forbidden to promote
political reform,
cover internal party
politics or the
inner workings of
the government,
criticise Beijing¨s
domestic and
international
policies, or
reporting financial
data that the
government has not
released. Because
all stories are
potentially subject
to pre-publication
censorship, many
reporters avoid
certain topics or
otherwise practice
self-censorship.
The WAN Board called
for the immediate
release of Mr Li and
other imprisoned
Chinese journalists.
WAN, the global
association of the
newspaper industry,
has awarded the
Golden Pen annually
since 1961. Past
winners include
Argentina¨s Jacobo
Timerman (1980),
South Africa¨s
Anthony Heard
(1986), China¨s Dai
Qing (1992),
Vietnam¨s Doan Viet
Hoat (1998),
Zimbabwe¨s Geoffrey
Nyarota (2002), and
Iran¨s Akbar Ganji
(2006).
|
Home
|
|
|
 | |
|
|
| |
