Today (5/3) is World Press Freedom Day.World press freedom index“, China is ranked 172 among 180 countries and regions, and the number of journalists imprisoned remains high in the world; Hong Kong is ranked 135, with a slight increase in ranking but a decrease in ranking.
Reporters Without Borders, headquartered in Paris, pointed out that China not only imprisons more journalists than any other country, but also tightly controls various news channels. , censoring and monitoring online content, and preventing the spread of sensitive or inconsistent content. by the position of the CCP.
The report also mentioned, the main function of the Chinese media is to be the mouthpiece of the CCP and spread political propaganda. Independent journalists and bloggers who seek to report “sensitive” information are often subject to surveillance, harassment, arrest, and in some cases even torture. In addition, journalists must download the “Xueqiangguo” app when renewing their news cards, which can collect journalists’ personal information.
China’s ranking this year has risen slightly from 179 in 2023, but Aleksandra Bielakowsk, an advocacy expert for Reporters Without Borders, told Voice of America (VOA) that China’s press freedom “hasn’t improved at all ” and that the rating has increased The same reason less freedom in other countries.
Reporters Without Borders: China Imprisons Most Journalists
She said that China still has the largest number of journalists in the world, with 119 journalists currently in prison. Among the incidents she cited are Nanjing dissident rights activist and independent journalist Sun Lin who was allegedly beaten to death by police in November 2023, and the anti-corruption report Shangguan Yunkai who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in January this year.
Bai Oran said that restrictions on press freedom in China may be worse than before, and that some simple topics that could have been reported before cannot be reported.
Hong Kong’s press freedom ranking also improved this year by five places compared to last year, but the actual score fell from last year. Bai Oran pointed out that the national security law enacted in 2020 has caused more persecution of Hong Kong journalists, and that press freedom is actually still declining after Article 23 of the Basic Law to proceed, the offenses of sedition and espionage may be used. stop journalists.
The top 10 in the Reporters Without Borders 2024 press freedom index ranking are Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland and Germany on top the list for eight consecutive years; Eritrea.
Taiwan is ranked 27thfourth in the Asia-Pacific region, second only to New Zealand, East Timor, and Samoa.
The US also falls in the ranking, local police attack media
The United States was ranked 55th in this year’s report, down 10 spots from the previous year. The report indicated that the American public’s trust in the media is growing, and the open hostility of some politicians has also contributed to this. The report pointed out that there have been several incidents in the United States where local law enforcement attacked newsrooms and arrested journalists, and that their actions had a negative impact.
Reporters Without Borders pointed out that governments are threatening press freedom around the world Among the five main indicators that determine the ranking, the political indicator has seen the biggest decline, with a global average decline of 7.6 percentage points. The group also expects that upcoming elections around the world will put a lot of pressure on journalists.
Other rankings include Canada (14), France (21), Australia (39), South Korea (62), Japan (70), Thailand (87), Malaysia (107), Singapore (126), and the Philippines (134). .
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2024-05-03 07:40:31
