Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/cnforbiddennews Like us on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/chinaforbiddennews The latest annual press freedom report by New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), revealed the killing and imprisonment of journalists has been grim for the past two years. Even Hong Kong's media no longer reports China issues as critically as it once did. Many reporters even conduct self-censorship due to the pressure from mainland China. Text : CPJ released the report on Feb.12h in Hong Kong, stating journalists in Hong Kong and Taiwan are facing big threats from Beijing. The author chose not to be identified to avoid professional repercussions. Yet the author indicated that both Shirley Yam, HKJA's (Hong Kong Journalists Association), vice-chairwoman and legislator Claudia Mo, told CPJ they believed Beijing to be meddling in media coverage of Hong Kong's 2012 election. They truly felt this was a major turning point for the chief executive. According to newspaper reports, In 2012 during the campaign to elect Hong Kong's current leader, Leung Chun-ying, who was propaganda chief of China's representative agency in Hong Kong, the Liaison Office called the owner of daily Hong Kong newspaper Economic Journal, complaining about the newspaper's critical coverage of Leung. Also, the pro-Beijing Sing Pao newspaper, twisted an opinion piece by commentator Johnny Lau, so much so that it ended up saying the complete opposite to what he had intended. Reports revealed journalists & academics were concerned city media leaders are being absorbed into China's political elite. For instance, Charles Ho of Sing Tao news group, Richard Li of Now TV and the Hong Kong Economic Journal, and Peter Woo of i-Cable television, all accepted appointments to the National People's Congress (NPC), and to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Zhang Chengjue, Hong Kong freelance writer: "It was just released that Lee Wai-ling has just been dismissed. "She has been an outspoken host in publicizing free speech and of people's free will. "What does her dismissal mean? To the radio, there might be some other considerations. "However, it is inevitable to believe that the Communist regime has put pressure on to the radio station. "Otherwise, why would a popular program host be let go all of a sudden for no reason?" Hu Liyun, International Federation of Journalists Asia-Pacific Project Office: "She (Li Wai-ling) is an outspoken host. "We can clearly see the reason behind her dismissal. "It shows clearly the media freedom in Hong Kong has been compromised due to such pressure." CPJ's report indicated that recent protests over Hong Kong's Ming Pao replacing its editor, Hong Kong's Television Network (HKTV) being rejected its license application, & Taiwan's Want Want China Times Group acquiring China Times, has shown people's concern about freedom of press and Beijing's influence over it. Shiau-Yee Chen, President of the Association of Taiwan Journalists: "The first issue is the change of media ownership. "In Taiwan it's very obvious when China Times' owner was changed to Want Want China Times Group, "the report has since changed its direction. For instance, the journalists' profession is gradually decreased, "and reports on China are pro-Communist, including news from China for propaganda purposes are getting more serious." The CPJ report also said that media owners in Taiwan, in order to protect their business, don't want to lose advertising revenue from Chinese companies and they don't want to anger central government. Shiau-Yee Chen: "In our process of opposing the media, since it's about the Want Want China Times Group, "other cable stations didn't dare report our opposition for fear of offending the Big Brother of the media. "They also didn't want to affect the air of their programs either. "It shows that Big Brother can affect the rest of media and the freedom of press." As for establishing mutual media offices between Taiwan & China, President of the Association of Taiwan Journalists, Shiau-Yee Chen, believes intelligence gathering purpose's hold greater sway, in the eyes of Communist leaders, than reporting intelligent and precise news. Shiau-Yee Chen: "We see that when Xinhua News Agency in Hong Kong became the Liaison Office in 2000, "it has since directly controlled Hong Kong's media. "Once Xinhua News Agency in Taiwan is established, it will no longer be just a news agency any more." Also, according to CPJ's analysis, in 2013, 70 journalists have died during their work, and 211 journalists have been imprisoned because of their work. Along side Turkey and Iran, China has one of the most imprisoned journalists 《神韵》2014世界巡演新亮点 http://www.ShenYunPerformingArts.org/

• published: 14 Feb 2014
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