This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
A new report on journalists ‘ working conditions finds that China’s authorities use drones to monitor and follow foreign journalists as they leave the country, as well as detain, harass, and threaten them with losing their work permits if they report on subjects considered sensitive by the government, according to a new report on journalists ‘ working conditions.
Four out of five people who responded to the Foreign Correspondents ’ Club of China monthly working problems survey said they had experienced “interference, abuse or violence” while trying to perform their jobs in China during the past month, the FCCC report found.
According to the report, local governments are extremely tracking international media employees.
We were followed by several cars with police people inside while reporting on the position of the Yangtze River dolphin, according to a blogger with a German internet business.
When a secluded sandy road prevented them from approaching them by vehicles, the plainclothes men once appeared to be using a helicopter.
Another blogger from Europe was reporting on a similar high-tech security while traveling to two provinces with climate-related extreme weather events.
According to the review, the soldiers were followed by several carloads of plainclothes. When we left our car and began filming or collecting conversations, drones were dispatched to observe and see us. The robots would pursue us when we moved on foot to a certain location. ”
Respondents also told the FCCC that they had a reason to believe that the authorities had “possibly or definitely ” compromised their WeChat ( 81 % ) and phone ( 72 % ) and/or installed audio recording bugs in their offices or homes, according to the report.
‘Endless cat-and-mouse sport’
Reporting in China was described by another journalist for a German newspaper as “an countless cat-and-mouse sport.” ”
The Chinese security and safety system changes and closes the gap, according to the report’s citation. Whatever tactics you employ, the monitoring place keeps getting smaller and smaller. ”
A foreign journalist with many years of experience in China who used the record British for fear of reprisals, told RFA Cantonese that she expects to constantly monitor her communications programs.
“ I was talking about an issue with a friend here [in mainland China ] … and may have mentioned it on WeChat, ” Lok said. “Later, he was called in by the authorities to ‘drink tea’” – a euphemism for being called in for questioning.
“It turned out that the issue was n’t him, but the conversation he had with me, ” she said. We must be cautious because talking to people on WeChat has caused a lot of problems. ”
It used to be simpler for reporters to evade national security than it is now, according to a second Hong Kong journalist who feared reprisals by using only the identity Wong.
“The Chinese government’s digital surveillance methods are comprehensive, ” Wong said. They act like a crackdown, where every move the goal makes is accessible to them. ”
Online tracking
Huang Chao-nien, an associate professor at the National Development Institute of Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, agreed, adding that the government has used online tracking to targeted journalists for centuries.
The government has long relied on an online growth model that intervenes in the market to impose rules on tech companies, he said, urging them to work with the government to carry out social surveillance and monitoring of public speech.
More than half of the reporters polled by the FCCC had experienced barrier from unexplained people at least once, according to the report.
According to the report, some members were warned not to join the club because it was viewed as an “illegal organization,” and others were threatened with losing their visas and work permits if they did n’t adhere to the rules, according to the report.
According to the report, regions that Chinese authorities found to be particularly vulnerable were even more difficult to work in. In addition, 85 % of journalists who attempted to record from the far western region of Xinjiang in 2023 encountered issues.
A European journalist was quoted as saying,” In Xinjiang we were followed the entire time. In Hotan, where we found about a dozen police following us by car or feet, was particularly annoying. ”
“ In Korla, we at some point had six vehicles following us. They all diligently followed us when we made a U-turn and then a trip over a deserted design web-site and dust road, according to the journalist.
And the concept of “sensitive” places appears to be expanding.
An increasing number of journalists reported encountering issues in regions with ethnic diversity, such as Inner Mongolia, (79 % ), Southeast Asian nations ( 43 % ), or other issues (79 % ).
More than 80 % of respondents and potential sources claimed they had declined because their leaders had not given them permission to speak to international press. Fear of reprisals is also being felt among authorities, experts and observers, the statement said.
“Academic resources, think tank workers and analysts either drop interviews, demand anonymity, or don’t answer at all, ” it quoted respondents as saying.
