A Vietnamese court have halved the jail sentence of a blogger after international pressure from government's and NGO's. Pham Minh Hoang was sentenced to three years imprisonment for attempted subversion in August this year after he wrote 33...
CATEGORY: Asia and Pacific
Bangladesh: Editor accused of extortion released on bail
The news editor of an online news agency has been released on bail after being held for nearly four months. Ekramul Haq, the editor of recently closed Sheershanews.com, was released from jail in Dhaka at around 4pm, local time, after he was granted...
Maldives: Government shuts down blog in climate of growing religious intolerance
The Maldivan government has ordered a ban on the blog of a freelance writer on the grounds it contained anti-Islamic material. The blog (www.hilath.com), run by independent journalist Ismail Khilath “Hilath” Rasheed, has been banned by the...
Thailand: Facebookers who ‘like’ anti-monarchy groups could face trial
A Thai Government minister has warned that Facebook users who 'like' or 'share' pages which denigrate the monarchy could face prosecution. The warning from information technology minister, Anudith Nakornthap, follows the sentencing of a 61 year...
Murong Xuecun: Caging a Monster 把怪物关进笼子里
Outspoken Chinese writer, Murong Xuecun delivered an astonishing speech in Oslo this week. Delivered during Chinese literature week, an extract of the translated speech by Jane Weizhen Pan and Martin Merz is posted below. Xuecun begins: I am a...
Bollywood censors ban Tibet flag
The long arm of Chinese soft power has reached Bollywood. Indian censors have ordered the makers of Rockstar to cut or blur scenes showing images of the Tibetan national flag, which features in one of the film’s song and dance numbers. The movie...
Murong Xuecun: China’s most outspoken novelist on being a “word criminal”
This has been cross-posted from the New York Times with permission. Word Crimes from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo. “The worst effect of the censorship is the psychological impact on writers,” Murong said. “When I was working on my first book, I didn’t...
Who is Hu Xijin? Behind the scenes at “China’s Fox News”
One of the most curious newspapers to come out of China in recent years is the English-language edition of the Global Times. Owned by the People’s Daily group, it is one of only two national papers published in English in mainland China, alongside...
China: Petitioners beaten when visiting Chen Guangcheng
A group of petitioners attempting to visit blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng were beaten on 30 October. According to petitioner Zhu Jindi, as the group of 37 supporters made their way to Dongshigu in Shandong province, where Chen remains under...
Proposed Thai law gives police power to shut news media
Anti-free speech legislation is used as a weapon in the ongoing political war between the Thaksin Shinawatra political machine and the Democrat Party. Voranai Vanijaka reports
