Over 40 journalist leaders met in Taipei, Taiwan over July 7-10 at an International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia-Pacific conference called "Media for Democracy - the Challenge in Asia".
Hosted by the IFJ's Taiwan affiliate, the Association of Taiwan Journalists, and supported by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the meeting brought together leaders of journalists' organisations from: Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
The meeting passed the following resolution:
This meeting of over 40 journalists' leaders from the International Federation of Journalists Asia-Pacific group, led by the IFJ President Christopher Warren, meeting in Taipei from 7-10 July:
DEMANDS the immediate release of Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong from detention, known as "residence under surveillance", in Beijing, China. Cheong is a Hong Kong citizen and legal resident of Singapore and is a well-respected and experienced journalist;
DEMANDS that all charges against Zhao Yan, a Chinese researcher for The New York Times, be dropped and that he be released immediately. Chinese authorities have held the researcher since 16 September, 2004, for 'divulging state secrets', a crime punishable by death, despite the fact that The New York Times has denied Zhao Yan's involvement with the story;
CONDEMNS the actions of the Chinese government with its systematic policy of silencing the media and their role in hindering press freedom in the region;
EXPRESSES concern over the consequences of Ching Cheong's and Zhao Yan's arrests and their potential to have a chilling effect on foreign news operations in China. While it is common - but still unacceptable - for the Chinese Government to jail Chinese journalists, in the past the government has refrained from jailing foreign journalists and those employed by foreign news agencies.
SUPPORTS the HKJA in its campaign on Ching Cheong and resolves to support the HKJA letter by adding our names as signatories.
For further information, please contact Christopher Warren on +61 411 757 668.
The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 110 countries
