15 Aug 2012 | Uncategorized
Among the many issues concerning freedom of expression, it becomes easy to forget illiteracy, even though it serves as one of the most basic barriers to freedom of expression. Illiteracy limits the ability to access and receive information as well as to share and pass on information in written form — on — or offline. As such it is a block to participation in social and political life including writing on or engaging with a range of issues and debates. UNESCO in 2008 reported that 796 million adults worldwide are unable to read and write — an 8 per cent increase in literacy globally in the past 20 years. In 1995 the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression said “the right to seek or have access to information is one of the most essential elements of freedom of speech and expression”.
Of the 796 million illiterate adults, 64 per cent of them are women, which not only reflects a deficiency in gender equality, but also reflects how in some cases lack of access can be a part of restricting the rights of women. According to UNHCHR resolution 2003/42, higher illiteracy rates can be a part of keeping them from being able to freely communicate, and contributes to constraining their rights to freedom of expression.
While a hindrance to freedom of expression, a high literacy rate does not necessarily correlate with a democratic and free society. While UNESCO estimates China’s literacy rate to be 94 per cent in adults, the single-party state is notorious for its extreme censorship of both the internet and the press, and has earned a ranking of “not free” from the US-based organisation Freedom House this year. Democratic India, meanwhile has a literacy rate of 62.8 per cent in adults.
Illiteracy is not only a problem in developing countries, but also an ongoing obstacle in developed nations. In 2010, the Literacy Trust estimated that 1 in 6 adults in the UK is illiterate. In the United States, the US Education Department released a 2009 report stating that 32 million American adults are practically illiterate — struggling with even the most basic of literacy skills. Lower literacy means less citizens engaged with major debates within a state, or even access to basic information.
Such shocking numbers only mean that a significant portion of the populations of both the United States and United Kingdom are unable to adequately access information about issues, making it difficult to be an informed decision maker — something crucial for every member of a democratic society.
Sara Yasin is an Editorial Assistant at Index on Censorship
22 Jun 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
A prominent Hong Kong newspaper has been criticised for self censorship by members of its staff. Journalists at the South China Morning Post have complained over coverage of the suspicious death of dissident Li Wangyang on 6 June. A number of emails between senior subeditor Alex Price to the newspaper’s editor Wang Xiangwei described staff concerns, as Price said that the minimal coverage of the death looked “a lot like self censorship”. Wang responded: “I don’t have to explain to you anything. I made the decision and I stand by it. If you don’t like it, you know what to do.”
18 Jun 2012 | China
The Chinese delegation of commissioning editors has pulled out of the Sheffield Documentary Festival due to the screening of a film about artist Ai Weiwei called Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. Directed by Alison Klayman, the film observes the subversive Chinese artist as he balances his art in Beijing with the politics that inform it. The internationally famous artist is one of the Chinese regime’s most outspoken critics and the film documents his working process, his family life and his clashes with police and authorities between 2008 and 2010. The film came to prominence when the artist was arrested over alleged tax-fraud in 2011.
Seen as the poster child for acceptable, overt political dissent in the mainstream, Wei Wei challenges the censorship and suppression of free expression in China. He turns ordinary items into the unexpected. Some works are like subtle asteroid strikes — like filling Tate Modern with delicate handmade sunflower seeds. Others, such as a notorious photograph of Weiwei flashing a middle-finger salute at Tiananmen Square, are more direct. All of it is an affront to the rosy, progressive image of a happy China willing to profit from capitalism but rejecting of democracy.
One of the scheduled Chinese delegate sessions at Doc/Fest would explore how filmmakers could work as creatives with Chinese outlets, platforms and agencies. Seen as a new and exciting market and target audience to documentary makers, festival organisers regret the delegation’s 11th hour decision to withdraw.
Heather Croall, director of Sheffield Doc/Fest says:
Officially we have been told that the reason the Chinese delegation cancelled is related to a restriction on the number of travel trips they can make to Europe. Unofficially though, there were a number of difficult conversations regarding films we are screening in our programme that challenge issues of freedom of speech in China. We came under pressure to not show certain films. We resisted the pressure, and the films remain in the programme.
Filmmaker and journalist Sean McAllister, whose film “The Reluctant Revolutionary” features at the festival, says the Chinese delegation’s withdrawal has sparked the Streisand Effect.
“They’ve succeeded in promoting the very film they are boycotting because everyone wants to see it now. Maybe this time off will give [the Chinese] some time to reflect on their support for Assad’s murderous regime [in Syria].”
Festival organisers say that the official Chinese delegation cancelled on 5 June – one week before its start. The programme also features a film on Chinese citizen journalists fighting against the Great Firewall of China called “High Tech, Low Life”. The delegation’s attempts at censoring the Festival have resulted in them banning themselves and a Doc/Fest spokesperson said “there may still be some Chinese producers and directors who’ve attended independently.”
The delegation of 10 and the Chinese embassy in London could not be reached for comment.
Leah Borromeo is a journalist and filmmaker who has worked as deputy foreign editor at Sky News, Channel 4 News and APTN
