(New York) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg should raise human rights abuses during his trip to China next week, Human Rights Watch said in a letter today. Human Rights Watch said he should highlight continuing restrictions on freedom of the media despite China’s pledges on press freedom ahead of the Olympic Games.
“China jails more journalists than any country in the world,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Mayor Bloomberg’s career in media, business and politics would not have been possible without a free media. He should explain to the Chinese government how important media freedom is to China’s social, economic, and political development.”
Human Rights Watch said that the Chinese government made specific pledges on media freedom when bidding to hold the 2008 Olympic Games, and in 2007 introduced temporary regulations to give expanded freedoms to accredited foreign journalists in the run-up to, and during, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Despite this, Human Rights Watch has documented continuing harassment, intimidation and detention of foreign journalists in China.
Other human rights issues in China include concerns about the rule of law and legal reform, freedom of religion, labor rights, internet censorship, and forced evictions of people from their homes.
