Submission from Human Rights in Asia
FOREIGN JOURNALIST
HARASSED IN
CHINA
This week, a Japanese newspaper correspondent
who was gathering information on Tibet from Sichuan Province in
China, was repeatedly harassed by police despite a decree signed
by China's Premier Wen Jiabao on October 2008 allowing foreign
journalists to travel within the country or to interview Chinese
citizens without government permission. Foreign journalists play
a key role in preventing human rights violations in Tibet and
I believe the international community should once again press
China to respect the rights of journalists.
Mr Toshu Noguchi, special correspondent of Japanese
quality paper the Sankei Shinbun, was staying in a hotel in Sichuan
Province on the morning of 11 March when three policemen appeared
with a copy of his passport. They ordered him to come to the police
station without explanation and threatened to handcuff. Mr Noguchi
said he wanted to go to the bathroom but it was firmly rejected
and he was not even allowed to wear his coat.
In the police station, they confiscated his camera
and mobile phone and checked the records. There was no interrogation
and he was just ordered to sit quietly for two hours. A policeman
was holding a fax message sent to Mr Noguchi from Tokyo.
On 9 March when Mr Noguchi was staying in a
hotel in Tibetan autonomous area of Sichuan Province, four policemen
burst into his room in the midnight and ordered him to show identification.
When he checked out of the hotel next morning, seven policemen
were waiting outside and did not allow him to leave. Mr Noguchi
was taken to another town where officials were waiting, and finally
sent back to Chengdu City.
Here is the report from Mr Noguchi in Japanese:
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/world/china/090312/chn0903122039002-n2.htm
The following is a translation system of google:
http://translate.google.com/
I am hoping that Britain could put pressure
on China to enforce the decree signed by Premier Wen Jiabao.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/world/asia/18china.html?partner=rssnyt
Ken Kato
Director
13 March 2009
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