The international journalistic organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has concluded in its latest report on press freedom in China that the Asian country is a world leader in measures against journalists, who report on unfavourable issues, British broadcaster BBC reports.
The organisation ranks China 177th out of 180 in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, just two places above North Korea. China has explained the arrests of reporters and citizen journalists by accusing them of provoking trouble.
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According to the study The Great Leap Backwards of Journalism in China released by the RSF on Tuesday, December 7, Chinese authorities used the fight against terrorism as a pretext to detain Uyghur journalists reporting on its Xinjiang region. The report listed other methods used included: using its overseas diplomatic missions to attack journalists; media blockades; censorship of topics; forcing local journalists to study Communist Party ideology and download a propaganda application on their phones; and expelling or intimidating journalists.
In China, at least ten journalists, citizen journalists and online commentators have been detained for reporting about the Covid-19 crisis in Wuhan. One of them is, former lawyer Zhang Zhan, who travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 and documented, what she saw on the streets and hospitals in livestreams and essays, despite threats by authorities, and her reports were widely shared on social media, BBC reports.
Study: China holds 127 journalists in detention
