RSF urges EU to raise the issue of press freedom during virtual summit with China

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the European Union (EU) representatives Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Chancellor Angela Merkel, the representative to Germany presidency of the Council of EU, to raise the issue of press freedom violations by the Chinese regime during the virtual EU-China summit scheduled for 14th September, which president Xi Jinping is scheduled to attend.

“Human rights is a fundamental value of the European Union, and to not insist for it would only encourage the Chinese regime to continue its policy of information control and repression of independent voices” says RSF Secretary General Christophe Deloire. “Any weaknesses would give China free rein to impose a new world information order, which could be more detrimental to European citizens than it is today”.

China is the world’s biggest captor of journalists with at least 118 detainees, often being held in life-threatening conditions. Last year, in an investigative report entitled "China's Pursuit of New World Media Order", RSF revealed Beijing’s strategy to control information beyond its borders that includes blackmail, intimidation and harassment on a massive scale, that threatens democracy worldwide.

China ranks 177th out of 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index published by RSF.