At least 250 journalists are jailed around the world, with the largest number held in China, amid a growing crackdown by authoritarian regimes on independent media, a press freedom watchdog said yesterday.
Many of those imprisoned face “anti-state” charges or are accused of producing “false news,” said a report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which also cited Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Eritrea, Vietnam and Iran for their jailing of journalists.
The group said that it counted at least 48 journalists jailed in China, one more than last year, as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) ramps up efforts to control the media.
That put China ahead of Turkey, which has 47 imprisoned journalists, and was its largest number over the previous three years.
However, Beijing defended its press freedoms, saying that the Chinese government was simply carrying out the rule of law.
“No one is above the law,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) told a media briefing, before advising reporters to consider what “illegal things” the 48 jailed journalists did.
The report also said that the situation in Turkey, which had 68 journalists jailed last year, is not really an improvement, but “reflects the successful efforts by the government of [Turkish] President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stamp out independent reporting and criticism.”
The Turkish government has shut down more than 100 news outlets and filed terrorism-related charges against many of their staff, putting many reporters out of work and intimidating others, the group said.
“Dozens of journalists not currently jailed in Turkey are still facing trial or appeal and could yet be sentenced to prison, while others have been sentenced in absentia and face arrest if they return to the country,” the group said.
Authoritarianism, instability and protests in the Middle East led to a rise in the number of journalists locked up in the region, with Saudi Arabia on a par with Egypt as the third-worst jailer worldwide, each with 26 imprisoned, the report said.
In Saudi Arabia, no charges have been disclosed against 18 of the journalists behind bars, the group said, expressing concern over reports of “beating, burning and starving political prisoners, including four journalists.”
Several of the arrests in Egypt came ahead of protests against corruption in September, which included calls for Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to resign.
Campaigners have said that the global total of 250 jailed journalists remains disturbingly high, even if it is slightly less than 255 last year and the record of 273 in 2016.
The report said that the group “believes that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their jobs.”
It cited the case of Chinese freelance journalist Sophia Huang (黃雪琴), who was arrested in October after writing about marching with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
Globally, the number charged with “false news” rose to 30, from 28 last year. This charge is used most frequently in Egypt, but has also been leveled against journalists in Russia and Singapore.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS