Beijing has detained Ching Cheong (
Many people who hold unrealistic ideas about China often conveniently forget, or consciously choose to turn a blind eye, to its notorious violations of basic civil rights -- freedom of the press being just one of them. It should not be forgotten that in China the news media is state-controlled and is essentially a puppet, allowed to parrot government propaganda only.
Beijing's long record of arresting journalists who step out of line speaks for itself. Chinese journalists have been arrested for reporting the government cover-up of the SARS epidemic and the spread of AIDS, as well as scandals involving corrupt officials and police brutality, among others. In any democratic society, reporters who bravely stand up against the system are considered heros. In China, they get thrown in jail. It is no wonder that the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders says there are more journalists in prison in China than anywhere else in the world.
As for foreign journalists based abroad or in special administrative regions of China such as Hong Kong, or who work for a foreign media outlet, Beijing does show a little more deference -- just a little -- due entirely to concerns over international pressure. Still, it is not enough to keep incidents such as the detention of Ching from occurring.
In fact, Ching's case marks the second incident of detention by the Chinese government of people working for foreign media within the past year. Zhao Yan (
Of course, no one is arguing that journalists should be granted legal immunity per se just because they are reporters. But Beijing, as a matter of standard procedure, often arrests or detains journalists without charge. Even when it bothers to make an official charge, it is often dubious -- like stealing "state secrets" or engaging in "espionage activities." As for what constitutes "state secrets" or "espionage activities," the Chinese government retains the subjective and arbitrary discretion to define them. The definitions vary depending on the political needs and concerns of the government at the time.
Ching was allegedly detained to prevent the publication of secret interviews with Zhao Ziyang (趙紫陽), the former premier who opposed the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. Reportedly, Beijing feared that the publication of the manuscript might stir memories of the massacre and create resentment toward the government. But everyone already knows that the bloody crackdown was ordered by the Chinese government. What kind of "state secret" is that?
There is also the severe lack of legal due process for journalists who are detained or arrested. They are often placed in detention for a long period of time without charges being formally made, without the right to legal representation, and without any formal and open trial.
Ching has been in custody since the end of April, allegedly to assist the "investigation." The same is true in Zhao Yan's case.
If Beijing genuinely wishes to change the impression that it has absolutely no respect for the rule of law and human rights, start by according these detained journalists open and transparent legal due process.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
Ursula K. le Guin in The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas proposed a thought experiment of a utopian city whose existence depended on one child held captive in a dungeon. When taken to extremes, Le Guin suggests, utilitarian logic violates some of our deepest moral intuitions. Even the greatest social goods — peace, harmony and prosperity — are not worth the sacrifice of an innocent person. Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), since leaving office, has lived an odyssey that has brought him to lows like Le Guin’s dungeon. From late 2008 to 2015 he was imprisoned, much of this