Being a journalist in China: harassment, kidnapping and precise technological surveillance
In a recent report, Reporters Without Borders revealed the extent of the restrictions that the Chinese government is experiencing for journalists. Exposing the methods of pressure exerted by the Chinese security on them, and the closely monitoring technologies used against them, as well as the arrest and torture they are subjected to.
According to Reporters Without Borders, China ranks 177th out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom, just two places ahead of North Korea, which is one of the most brutal dictatorships currently in place. Thus, in a recent report , the aforementioned organization reveals the extent of restrictions and persecution practiced by the Xi Jinping regime on journalists in his country.
"It is a situation that should be similar to the Mao era, and the press in Hong Kong is also in free fall," this is what was included in the report of the international organization. Exposing the methods of harassment, surveillance and threats exercised by Beijing on journalists, which force them not to deviate from chanting local propaganda, otherwise arrest, torture and even murder will be their punishment for that.
The most prominent journalists under these circumstances are the Uyghur journalists who are subjected to persecution and abuse in detention centers in the East Turkestan region, according to human rights organizations and an official Chinese denial.
Harassment, kidnapping and surveillance
“No matter what topic they are working on, whoever does not adhere to the official narrative will continue to undermine national unity,” says Reporters Without Borders' report on the state of the press in China under Xi Jinping. Since coming to power in 2013, he ended the era of relative openness that witnessed freedom of expression in the country, and established a situation that "should be similar to the Maoist era" by launching an unprecedented campaign to clamp down on journalists.
Christophe Deloire, Secretary-General of Reporters Without Borders, described the situation, saying: "This decline in freedom of expression in China is the most terrifying, given the financial and technological capabilities that the government possesses to continue its approach of restricting freedom of expression." The report listed the number of violations committed against journalists, especially kidnappings and detention without trial.
And the Chinese government exercises its restrictions on freedom of expression in social media, using groups of propaganda publishers and electronic flies to harass and bully journalists who adopt narratives contrary to what is reported by the official media, which is the spokesperson for the Communist Party. He pressures journalists to align their work with the regime's narrative. In order to renew their accreditation cards, they will soon be required to attend annual trainings on "President Xi's Thought."
In addition to threats of kidnapping and murder against journalists and their families, such as what happened to the head of the ABC bureau in Beijing, who was threatened by the authorities to kidnap his 14-year-old daughter and be detained in an unknown location. Or defame them and push them under threat to make confessions that are broadcast on official television.
China has precise surveillance technology that it sheds on journalists, and in 2019 a law was passed obligating Chinese journalists to use the “Study Xi” application, which cybersecurity engineers concluded that it is able to collect private data for the user, and turn on the microphone of the device loaded on it without the knowledge of its owner to eavesdrop on it. During the recent Henan floods, the provincial authorities put journalists who came to cover the disaster under electronic monitoring, the report said.
And "Reporters Without Borders" had previously published a warning to journalists going to cover the Winter Olympics in China, and Cedric Alviani, director of the organization's East Asia office, said in a statement: "The Olympics give Chinese President Xi Jinping a fantastic opportunity to restore his image, and try to make people forget his disastrous records. in the field of human rights, including freedom of the press and the right to access information.
"It is legitimate for the media to cover this major international event, but they should be aware of attempts to manipulate by the regime, and protect their journalists from surveillance and potential pressure," the official added.
Uyghur journalists at the head of the persecuted
The report of "Reporters Without Borders" concluded that the Chinese government is detaining 127 journalists, 71 of whom are from the Muslim Uyghur minority in the eastern region of Xinjiang, against which Beijing practices various means of ethnic and religious persecution.
The Chinese authorities apply to the region a wide cover of media blackout, under the "Terrorism Law", which these authorities use as a pretext for their atrocities. Beijing forbids filming in the region, and documenting any independent reports there. It is also prosecuting Uyghur journalists who work to publicize their case. Among them, according to the report, is the Uyghur intellectual who won the Sakharov Prize, Ilham Tohti, who has been in prison since 2009.
