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tinybear · Apr 5, 2006, 01:14 pm

South China Morning Post
Tuesday, April 4, 2006

Beijing --- Journalist Yang Xiaoqing told his wife he knew how to handle the risks of his job, but that was before he was arrested after reporting claims of corruption, joining the country's list of detained reporters.

He was arrested in January after five months of hiding from police and charged with extortion after reporting claims of dishonest state property sales in Hunan province, said his wife, Gong Jie.

But Yang, his family and other reporters insist he is innocent and say officials persecuted him for exposing their misdeeds. On the mainland, outright censorship was just one of the pitfalls journalists faced, and officials could also use their control of the courts to restrict the news, they said.

"The key problem in Yang's case is that the legal system isn't independent. Leaders can use criminal charges to trap journalists, and that makes challenging them, even local leaders, dangerous," Li Xinde, an on-line investigative journalist who has protested against Yang's arrest, said yesterday.

Yang, 36, was a Communist Party member who worked for the China Industry and Economic News, a broadsheet run by the Communist Party's youth wing, his wife said.

But he riled officials in Hunan, especially in his home county of Longhui, when disgruntled teachers and workers took to him their complaints, she said. "He liked to do investigative reporting that spoke up for ordinary people, but that left bad blood with local officials going back a long time," she said.

http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/articl...parentid=42027

Could this sort of thing happen in America, do you think? Why?

Apr 5, 2006, 01:14 pm	#1 (permalink) (top)
tinybear Volcanic Erupter Location: Hong Kong (for now) Posts: 7,009	CHINA: Journalist held for uncovering corruption, wife says South China Morning Post Tuesday, April 4, 2006 Beijing --- Journalist Yang Xiaoqing told his wife he knew how to handle the risks of his job, but that was before he was arrested after reporting claims of corruption, joining the country's list of detained reporters. He was arrested in January after five months of hiding from police and charged with extortion after reporting claims of dishonest state property sales in Hunan province, said his wife, Gong Jie. But Yang, his family and other reporters insist he is innocent and say officials persecuted him for exposing their misdeeds. On the mainland, outright censorship was just one of the pitfalls journalists faced, and officials could also use their control of the courts to restrict the news, they said. "The key problem in Yang's case is that the legal system isn't independent. Leaders can use criminal charges to trap journalists, and that makes challenging them, even local leaders, dangerous," Li Xinde, an on-line investigative journalist who has protested against Yang's arrest, said yesterday. Yang, 36, was a Communist Party member who worked for the China Industry and Economic News, a broadsheet run by the Communist Party's youth wing, his wife said. But he riled officials in Hunan, especially in his home county of Longhui, when disgruntled teachers and workers took to him their complaints, she said. "He liked to do investigative reporting that spoke up for ordinary people, but that left bad blood with local officials going back a long time," she said. http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/articl...parentid=42027 Could this sort of thing happen in America, do you think? Why?