Tag Archives: Press Freedom

Alibaba, SCMP Deal Sparks Concern Over Chinese Takeover of Hong Kong Media

Posted on 12/05/2015 by | Alibaba, SCMP Deal Sparks Concern Over Chinese Takeover of Hong Kong Media已关闭评论

2015-12-03

fb5e6b49-0a48-47e3-88ad-4ed9f5eca94aCopies of the South China Morning Post, believed to be a target for a takeover by Chinese Internet tycoon Jack Ma of Alibaba, are displayed for sale at a newsstand in Hong Kong, on Nov. 28, 2015.
AFP

Chinese internet company Alibaba is reportedly in discussions to buy a controlling stake in Hong Kong’s largest English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post (SCMP), according to a number of recent media reports.

Sources have told Reuters and the Wall Street Journal that a potential deal is in the offing between the paper’s current owner, Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok and the Chinese e-commerce giant, while Quartz reported on Thursday that a merger agreement will be signed before Christmas.

If confirmed, the deal will mark a further foray by mainland Chinese investors into the Hong Kong media and publishing sector, sparking further fears that Beijing is seeking yet Continue reading →

Alibaba, SCMP Deal Sparks Concern Over Chinese Takeover of Hong Kong Media已关闭评论

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Hong Kong Journalists Slam University’s Injunction as Doubts ‘Deepen’ Over Interference

Posted on 11/04/2015 by | Hong Kong Journalists Slam University’s Injunction as Doubts ‘Deepen’ Over Interference已关闭评论

201511030135taiwan1 2015-11-03

Journalists in Hong Kong have hit out at an injunction barring them from broadcasting secret recordings of a meeting of the University of Hong Kong (HKU)’s governing body.

The university applied for the injunction and called on Commercial Radio, which broadcast two secretly made recordings from a meeting of the HKU Council in which some members rejected liberal scholar Johannes Chan as a candidate for a high-ranking managerial post.

The recordings emerged after Chan was rejected for Continue reading →

Hong Kong Journalists Slam University’s Injunction as Doubts ‘Deepen’ Over Interference已关闭评论

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China’s New Crimes Will Stifle Public Expression, Erode Channels of Complaint

Posted on 11/03/2015 by | China’s New Crimes Will Stifle Public Expression, Erode Channels of Complaint已关闭评论

2015-11-02
New amendments recently in force to China’s criminal law have added more than 20 crimes to the statute book, including many critics say could further erode freedom of speech and place even more power in the hands of the state.

The amendments, effective Sunday, make it a crime to ‘insult a judge,’ ‘disrupt court order,’ post ‘rumors’ online and cheat in exams, while scaling back the death penalty on some crimes.

New criminal offenses include “fabricating, deliberately Continue reading →

China’s New Crimes Will Stifle Public Expression, Erode Channels of Complaint已关闭评论

Posted in Headlines, Internet Freedom, Press Freedom

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Hong Kong Bookstores Display Beijing’s Clout

Posted on 10/24/2015 by | Hong Kong Bookstores Display Beijing’s Clout已关闭评论

20hongkong-web2-articleLarge (1)By MICHAEL FORSYTHE and CRYSTAL TSE October 21, 2015

The 1908 book store, which specializes in banned Chinese language books, has seen business fall off substantially in part because mainland tour groups are told by their guides that they are not allowed to bring banned books and magazines home.
Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

HONG KONG — The tiny book stall next to the popular Star Ferry terminal in Hong Kong does a brisk business catering to the thousands of visitors from mainland China who pass by every day.

About half of its books are political, including titles about Continue reading →

Hong Kong Bookstores Display Beijing’s Clout已关闭评论

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China Holds Top Reporter on ‘State Secrets’ Charges

Posted on 10/21/2015 by | China Holds Top Reporter on ‘State Secrets’ Charges已关闭评论

image (31)2015-10-19

Southern Metropolis Daily journalist Liu Wei in an undated photo.
Photo courtesy of an RFA listener

Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangxi are holding a top investigative journalist on suspicion of “obtaining state secrets,” his newspaper has reported.

Continue reading →

China Holds Top Reporter on ‘State Secrets’ Charges已关闭评论

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Chinese Rights Activists Step Up Calls For Action Ahead of President’s Trip

Posted on 09/03/2015 by | Chinese Rights Activists Step Up Calls For Action Ahead of President’s Trip已关闭评论

image2015-09-03

Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, speaks at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong, May 13, 2015.
AFP

As Chinese President Xi Jinping gears up for his first state visit to the United States since assuming the presidency in 2013, calls are growing for U.S. and Chinese officials to make meaningful progress on human rights following a series of harsh crackdowns by his administration on critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

“Xi has presided over the detentions and imprisonment of Continue reading →

Chinese Rights Activists Step Up Calls For Action Ahead of President’s Trip已关闭评论

Posted in Headlines, Human Rights Lawyer, Press Freedom

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Rise of Guangdong Propaganda Chief a Sign of Further Media Controls to Come

Posted on 07/20/2015 by | Rise of Guangdong Propaganda Chief a Sign of Further Media Controls to Come已关闭评论

2015-07-17

image (31)Demonstrators call for press freedom in support of journalists from Southern Weekend newspaper in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province, Jan. 8, 2013.
AFP

The ruling Chinese Communist Party has promoted a propaganda official whose reported rewriting of a New Year front page editorial in the cutting-edge magazine Southern Weekend prompted a strike and days of protests in early 2013.

Tuo Zhen, 59, who is believed to have rewritten Continue reading →

Rise of Guangdong Propaganda Chief a Sign of Further Media Controls to Come已关闭评论

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Hong Kong journalist association says press freedom deteriorating

Posted on 07/13/2015 by | Hong Kong journalist association says press freedom deteriorating已关闭评论

 

A newspaper columnist urges passersby to support stabbed former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau in Hong Kong February 28, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

A newspaper columnist urges passersby to support stabbed former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau in Hong Kong February 28, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

A newspaper columnist urges passersby to support stabbed former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau in Hong Kong February 28, 2014.
REUTERS/BOBBY YIP

The Hong Kong Journalists’ Association says PP has Continue reading →

Hong Kong journalist association says press freedom deteriorating已关闭评论

Posted in Hong Kong Democracy, Press Freedom

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