Not an internal matter
Censorship is not an internal matter
The coronavirus pandemic has provided new evidence of the relevance of the fight waged by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for the free flow of news and information. In our globalized world, violations of this basic freedom are a matter for the entire international community, regardless of where they occur.
Without the censorship imposed by Beijing, the Chinese media would have informed the public about the seriousness of the epidemic much sooner, sparing thousands of lives and possibly avoiding the pandemic. Withholding information on the grounds of “not spreading panic” is unacceptable and aggravates problems instead of helping to solve them.
Conversely, Taiwan’s example shows that the flow of information at a time of crisis does not undermine effectiveness. By opting for transparency, the Taiwanese authorities succeeded in getting the public to comply with the public health measures they were recommending, and many think this has helped them to rein in the epidemic. Like the coronavirus, censorship knows no borders and can wreak havoc. News and information manipulation is a major obstacle to human progress. It restricts free will and destroys the ability to discern. By distorting the parameters of the debate, it inevitably leads to bad decisions which, in turn, must be covered up by new lies.
RSF calls on democratic countries to mobilize to rid the world of this anachronistic practice and to ensure that the post-coronavirus era is one in which information flows freely for the benefit of all. Only if we do this will humankind finally be able to resolve all the political, social and environmental challenges it is facing.
Chinese lies
As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the world, Beijing persists in trying to censor certain information related to the epidemic. The regime has received a great deal of criticism, both in China and abroad, for its opaque and bureaucratic handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Worse still, pursuing a policy concerted at the highest level of the Chinese government that aims to control international media coverage, its diplomats have attacked foreign media outlets with considerable virulence, accusing them of defaming China and lying about its role in the coronavirus pandemic. China is ranked 177th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
Platforms urged to prevent harassment of journalists covering Covid-19
May 11, 2020
At a time when the media are playing a crucial role in publishing reliable information about the Covid-19 epidemic, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed by the increase in online harassment of journalists in all parts of the world, often at the behest of politicians and political parties, and calls on digital platforms to step up their efforts to protect journalists.
China: detained for fighting censorship
May 11, 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Beijing to free three defenders of press freedom who have been detained in Chinese black prisons since April 19 for reposting censored news articles on an open-source website.
Beware of China’s coronavirus disinformation, RSF says
April 18, 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges everyone to beware of the global disinformation campaign about the coronavirus that Beijing has been orchestrating ever since the start of the pandemic, which has so far killed 150,000 people and infected more than 2 million others worldwide.
Coronavirus : mass expulsion of foreign correspondents further cripples freedom of information in China
March 27, 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the regime to reverse its decision to expel 13 US foreign correspondents today and insists that independent reporting is, now more than ever, critical in the fight against the coronavirus.
Coronavirus: RSF calls on China to release all detained journalists
March 26, 2020
While there remains a risk of coronavirus contamination in Chinese prisons, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Beijing to immediately release all detained journalists.
Coronavirus: The information heroes China silenced
March 25, 2020
Three months after the first reports of coronavirus cases were posted on Chinese social media and began circulating within civil society, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) looks back at the way the Chinese state, in its obsession with complete control over information, has cracked down relentlessly on all independent information outlets.
“If the Chinese press were free, the coronavirus might not be a pandemic,” argues RSF
March 24, 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows that, without the control and censorship imposed by the authorities, the Chinese media would have informed the public much earlier of the severity of the coronavirus epidemic, sparing thousands of lives and perhaps avoiding the current pandemic.
Chinese ambassador in France has no right to give lessons in coronavirus coverage
March 20, 2020
The secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Christophe Deloire, is appalled by the criticism of the French media and their coronavirus coverage being voiced by the Chinese ambassador in France, Lu Shaye.
RSF calls on China to stop cracking down on voices criticizing its coronavirus management
March 19, 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads worldwide, the Beijing regime strives to silence critical voices calling into question the party-state’s management of the crisis.
RSF urges China to rescind decision to expel New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post reporters
March 18, 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Beijing to reverse its decision to expel all American journalists working in China with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
Harassment of foreign reporters is becoming systematic in China
March 4, 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Chinese authorities to end their harassment of foreign reporters and their sources, which is increasing, according to a report published yesterday by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC).
RSF urges China to stop censoring information about coronavirus epidemic
February 24, 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Chinese government to stop obstructing journalists covering the coronavirus epidemic and points out that only complete transparency will help to avoid the spread of rumours that exacerbate the crisis.
RSF urges China to rescind decision to expel three WSJ reporters
February 21, 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Chinese authorities to reverse their decision to expel three Wall Street Journal journalists based in Beijing because of an opinion piece the newspaper published about China’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic.