‘Chinese journalists still face attacks, harassment’

BEIJING - General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), China’s top press watchdog, has warned against the “complicated occupational environment” facing more than 700,000 media professionals amid a number of reported attacks against journalists.

“Journalists are facing many traps during reporting, while some may encounter physical attacks. At the same time, the emergence of fake journalists will greatly hinder the legitimate media’s work,” China Daily quoted Li Dongdong, deputy director of the GAPP, as saying.

Li’s warnings have come after many journalists were reported to have been either attacked or disturbed while reporting this year.

In March, a female TV reporter in the Southwest China’s Guizhou province was slapped in the face while reporting a traffic offence. In August, Yichun police in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province apologized for mistakenly detaining four reporters covering a plane crash there, the paper said.

At almost the same time, police in Suichang county, Zhejiang province, put Qiu Ziming, a reporter with Beijing-based Economic Observer, on its wanted list after Qiu reported suspected irregular dealings by a local company.

“I refused the company’s offer of bribes. I’m not afraid, as what I reported is all true,” Qiu wrote on his blog.

Li Dongdong said that GAPP has introduced several regulations to guarantee journalists’ legal rights and protect them from any physical attacks while reporting.

“Journalists who abuse their right to interview for private gain will be severely punished and reported to the public to ensure the proper functioning of the press and publication market,” she added.

Stressing on the media’s right to get information from governments at all levels, GAPP said that media has the right to know, interview, publish and criticize, and government officials should not turn down media requests for interviews without a proper reason. (ANI)