Press freedom body calls for EU sanctions against Chinese media
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Version 0 of 1. The Paris-based press freedom body, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has called for European Union sanctions against China’s main TV broadcaster and its official news agency over the Peter Dahlin case. As the Guardian reported yesterday, Dahlin, a Swedish human rights activist “was paraded on Chinese television on Tuesday night to make what friends and colleagues describe as a ‘forced confession’”. He appeared on the state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) and critical claims about him were carried by the official news agency, Xinhua. RSF says it is “appalled” by China’s state media screening and publishing “confessions”, arguing that the practice “poses an alarming threat to freely reported news and information.” It points out that both organisations acted similarly in the case of Gui Minhai, the owner of Mighty Current, the Hong Kong company that publishes books critical of the Chinese Communist Party. He delivered a tearful “confession” on CCTV on 17 January. “We are outraged by the dissemination of forced ‘confessions’ that have no informational value,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “By knowingly peddling lies and statements that were presumably obtained under duress, CCTV and Xinhua become mass propaganda weapons and cease de facto to be news media.” Ismaïl continued: “In view of their growing international role – seen in the increasing number of partnerships with CCTV and the many international media subscribing to Xinhua’s service – these two organisations represent a threat to freely produced news in the public interest. We call on the European Union to urgently adopt a resolution sanctioning these practices, which are part of the Chinese government’s repressive system.” In August 2014, RSF called on the European Council to adopted sanctions against CCTV following the screened “confession” of Chinese journalist Gao Yu about disclosing state secrets. Months later, at her trial, she said she made the confession under duress. There is a precedent for EU action. In March 2013, the European Council found that the Iranian-backed Press TV had violated the right to a fair trial by their airing of forced confessions. RSF mentions two other victims of this forced confession practice by CCTV. They are Xiang Nanfu, a contributor to the New York-based news website Boxun, and Chen Yongzhou, a reporter for the Xinkuai Bao newspaper. In December 2013, a CCTV producer, Wang Qinglei, was fired after criticising his employer for broadcasting a forced confession by a a social network commentator, Charles Xue. Source: RSF |