Latest news with #JimmyLaiChee-ying
Forbes
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
One Free Press Coalition's '10 Most Urgent' List For 2025 Highlights Journalists In Detention And Governments' Current Efforts At Criminalizing Journalism
NEW YORK – May 1, 2025 – Coinciding with World Press Freedom Day, leading news organizations and publishers around the world have come together as part of the One Free Press Coalition to announce the 2025 '10 Most Urgent' list, bringing to light and emphasizing ten cases of those who are currently detained for actively pursuing their duty as fellow journalists. The mission of the coalition is to use the collective voices of its members – which reach more than two billion people worldwide – to 'stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.' In 2025, many journalists continue to face increased risks and challenges while working to seek the truth and spread the information and knowledge they learned while working. The '10 Most Urgent' list, published this morning by all members and at the OneFreePress website includes the following journalists: 1. Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of newspaper Apple Daily, Hong Kong Since December 2020, Jimmy has been confined to solitary confinement in a Hong Kong maximum-security prison, having been charged under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law after raising human rights concerns with international human rights organizations. 2. Shin Daewe, documentary filmmaker and freelancer, Myanmar Shin was ordered a life sentence in 2024, now reduced to 15 years, on charges of illegal possession of an unregistered drone, after being arrested and interrogated by police in 2023 when she was receiving a drone that she had ordered online. 3. Frenchie Mae Cumpio, community journalist for Eastern Vista, Philippines Frenchie Mae has been held in pre-trial detention for five years after authorities raided her home in February 2020 and arrested her—along with colleagues Marielle Domequil and Alexander Abingun—on charges of illegal firearms possession and terrorism financing, which she denies. 4. Pham Doan Trang, author, journalist, activist and founder of Luat Khoa legal magazine, Vietnam Pham was arrested in 2020 and accused of 'anti-state propaganda,' and ultimately sentenced to nine years in prison. For years prior to her arrest, she endured threats, police brutality, self-imposed exile and interrogations over her writings about democracy, freedom of expression, human rights, environmental degradation and women's empowerment. 5. Ihar Losik, freelance journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Belarus Service, Belarus Ihar was detained in June 2020 in advance of Belarus' rigged election in August, later tried on charges including 'organization of mass riots' and 'incitement to hatred. He was later sentenced to 15 years in prison. 6. Sevinj Vagifgizi, chief editor of anti-corruption investigative outlet Abzas Media, Azerbaijan After Azerbaijan implemented a major crackdown on independent press in 2023, Sevinj was arrested and continues to be detained due to multiple financial crime charges in relation to allegedly illegally receiving funding from Western donors. 7. Vladyslav Yesypenko, contributor to a unit of Radio Free Europe/RadioLiberty's Ukrainian Service, Russia Vladyslav was arrested in 2021 and sentenced in 2022 to ultimately five years in prison after initially being detained on suspicion of spying for the Ukrainian government, later changed to charges relating to possession and transport of explosives. 8. Li Yanhe, Taiwan-based radio host and publisher and founder of Gusa Press, China Li was arrested two years ago during a trip to Shanghai, held incommunicado, and sentenced in February 2025 to a $6,900 fine and three years in prison on charges of inciting separatism. 9. Makhabat Tajibek Kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov and Aike Beishekeyeva, journalists from YouTube-based anti-corruption investigative outlet Temirov Live, Kyrgyzstan In February 2025, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court confirmed sentences against Makhabat, Azamat and Aike on charges of calling for mass unrest. 10. Joakim Medin, special correspondent for the Swedish newspaper ETC, Turkey Joakim has been held in a high-security prison in Silivri, Turkey since March 30 after his arrest while traveling to report on civil unrest in the city, and being accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and 'belonging to an armed terrorist organization' because he was present as a reporter at an anti-Erdoğan rally organized by individuals tied to the Kurdistan Workers' Party in Stockholm in 2023. The list is compiled in collaboration with the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Women's Media Foundation and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to Committee to Protect Journalists data, 361 journalists were behind bars worldwide at the end of 2024 (up from 320 in 2023). 'As journalists continue to stand under attack for pursuing the truth, it's important now more than ever to use our voices in support of our peers and in defense of the truth,' said Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer, Forbes. 'We encourage other outlets to join us and use their voices to stand up for those voices that have been threatened or silenced. Together, in solidarity, we can send a message to those who threaten free speech that we will fight back for our fellow journalists.' Last August, the One Free Press Coalition celebrated the release of two American journalists — Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva — from Russian detention after their cases were at the top of the May 2024 list of '10 Most Urgent' press freedom cases. News organizations throughout the world can join the coalition by emailing info@ Members of the public are also encouraged to join the conversation using #OneFreePress and following developments on X @OneFreePress. About the One Free Press Coalition The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of prominent international members including: L'Agefi; Agencia EFE; The Associated Press; The Atlantic; Barron's; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; Business Insider; Deutsche Welle; Dow Jones; The Economist; Forbes; El País; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Nikkei Asia; TIME; The Wall Street Journal; The Washington Post; and WIRED. To see the '10 Most Urgent' list and to view a complete list of participating news organizations and supporting partners, please visit or @OneFreePress on X. Media Contacts: One Free Press Coalition: pr@ CPJ: Mohamed Abdelfattah at press@ IWMF: Charlotte Fox at cfox@ RSF: Zoé Boissel at zboissel@
South China Morning Post
01-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘Jimmy Lai Way': US call to honour jailed tycoon in DC address of Hong Kong trade office
A bipartisan group of US House members has launched a fresh campaign to rename the address of Hong Kong's trade office in Washington in honour of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying , a day after the US State Department sanctioned six officials in the city for 'undermining Hong Kong's autonomy'. Advertisement Under a new bill introduced on Tuesday, the official address of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Washington's Dupont Circle neighbourhood would be changed from 1520 18th Street Northwest to 1 Jimmy Lai Way Northwest. 'By renaming the street in honour of Jimmy Lai, we show respect for this champion of democracy and human rights and all those detained in Hong Kong for exercising rights guaranteed them by international law and treaty,' said Republican Chris Smith of New Jersey, the bill's sponsor. 'We want to remind every HKETO employee of their part in dismantling the freedoms that once made Hong Kong the most vibrant and prosperous city in Asia,' added Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. 01:49 Hegseth reaffirms US-Japan alliance against 'aggressive Communist Chinese' Hegseth reaffirms US-Japan alliance against 'aggressive Communist Chinese' The bill is co-sponsored by New York Democrat Tom Suozzi and the leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Republican John Moolenaar of Michigan and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
South China Morning Post
23-03-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's security chief attacks Guardian newspaper over Jimmy Lai claim
Hong Kong's security minister has hit out at a British news outlet for 'smearing remarks' made in an article about the top court's rejection of an appeal by former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying over the hiring of a foreign lawyer. Advertisement Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung on Sunday wrote to The Guardian to defend the Court of Final Appeal's recent rejection of Lai's appeal over an earlier decision to stop his preferred British lawyer, King's Counsel Timothy Owen, from representing him. Headlined 'The obscure Jimmy Lai ruling that exposed the erosion of Hong Kong's rule of law', the article published on March 22 discussed the implications of the court's decision by quoting several legal experts, including former United Kingdom supreme court judge Jonathan Sumption and ex-chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association Paul Harris. They said the rule of law in Hong Kong was 'profoundly compromised' and the fact the decisions made by the national security committee could not be legally challenged 'effectively gives the committee the powers of a police state'. Lai won approval for Owen to represent him in 2022, and the government lost its appeals to block the move. Advertisement Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu then sought an interpretation of the national security law by the country's top legislative body, which later gave the city's leader and the national security committee the final say on the matter, with the decisions of the latter not open to judicial review.
South China Morning Post
16-03-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Beijing slams Western UN diplomats over meeting Jimmy Lai's son and legal team
The Chinese foreign ministry's arm in Hong Kong has slammed the American, British and Canadian ambassadors to the United Nations, accusing them of interfering in the city's affairs after the son of jailed former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying met them last week. Advertisement In a statement issued on Sunday, the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong called Lai 'the top culprit among anti-China elements' and expressed 'strong disapproval and firm rejection' of the meeting involving the ambassadors and Lai's family and legal team. 'They were emboldening anti-China destabilising forces, smearing Hong Kong's rule of law and interfering in Hong Kong and China's internal affairs,' the spokesman said. Lai, 77, has denied two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces under the national security law and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications. His oral testimony at West Kowloon Court lasted for more than 50 days. Sebastien Lai, the son of the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid newspaper, wrote on social media that he met the diplomats between Thursday and Saturday. Some of the officials openly called for the release of Jimmy Lai afterward. Advertisement The office spokesman said 'anti-China destabilising forces' had crossed 'legal red lines' and challenged Hong Kong's constitutional order and the fundamental principles of the 'one country, two systems' governing system, as well as colluded with external forces to endanger national security.
South China Morning Post
07-03-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Not a ‘president's son': official rejects calls to pardon Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai
A Beijing official overseeing national security in Hong Kong has dismissed calls from foreign groups to pardon former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, questioning the need to do so as the defendant is not 'a certain president's son'. Advertisement Sun Qingye, deputy director of Beijing's Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, also warned on Friday against putting pressure on local judges. Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid newspaper, completed his oral testimony on his 52nd day in the witness box on Thursday in his defence against two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications. The prosecution of the 77-year-old has drawn widespread condemnation from some Western countries over claims it is politically motivated, with US President Donald Trump previously saying during his election campaign he would '100 per cent' get Lai out of China. But Sun on Friday questioned the need to pardon Lai as some had suggested. Advertisement 'Why should we pardon him? What are the reasons to pardon him? He is not a certain president's son,' he said on the sidelines of the 'two sessions', the nation's biggest annual political gathering in Beijing.
