China has been termed as the 'world's biggest captor of journalists' as the communist country has held over a score of media workers under detention, according to the international non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The international body aims at safeguarding the right to information. Numerous journalists were detained for reporting and publishing content that the ruling Communist Party considers as sensitive, the latest report by RSF reveals. The report has been titled 'An unprecedented RSF investigation: The Great Leap Backwards of Journalism in China'. The report further said that more than half of the detained journalists are Uyghur and the Chinese regime has been conducting violent campaigns against the Uyghurs since 2016 in the name 'fight against terrorism'. The watchdog has also claimed that the government has increased the number of taboo topics for China which include Tibet, Taiwan or corruption and also natural disasters, the #MeToo movement, or even recognition of health professionals during the Covid-19 crisis.
Key Points :
1. "At least 127 journalists (professional and non-professional) are currently detained by the regime," the latest RSF report disclosed. "The simple act of investigating a “sensitive” topic or publishing censored information can result in years of detention in unsanitary prisons, where ill-treatment can lead to death," it added.
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2. RSF report also elaborated on how the Chinese government has oppressed the liberty of journalists in China and has also forced them to become the mouthpiece of their regime.
3. The report has also said that journalists in China are required to undergo 90-hour annual training which focuses on Xi Jinping’s 'Thought' to receive or renew their press cards.
4. "At least ten journalists and online commentators for the simple act of informing the public about the Covid-19 crisis in Wuhan," the RSF said. Zhang Zhan and Fang Bin, two of the reporters who did the same are still under detention in China
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5. The Chinese Communist Party continues to strongly monitor and regulate its press and flow of information to its public. However, some press freedom groups have claimed the current ruling party has tightened control over media since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012.
