Shi Tao wins Golden Pen Award

Here in Capetown, South Africa, the World Association of Newspapers has just awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom 2007 award to Chinese journalist Shi Tao - who is presently doing a 10 year jail sentence. His mother accepted the award on his behalf.

Here is an excerpt of remarks by World Editors Forum President George Brock:

Three years ago, Mr Shi wrote an e-mail to overseas Chinese web sites that contained government instructions to the media on how they must cover the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. For this act, he was jailed for ten years for leaking - and I quote - "state secrets" .

How the Chinese authorities traced this e-mail, and discovered that Shi Tao was the author, is a cautionary tale with widespread implications for on-line privacy, and for the way that western communications companies do business in their understandably difficult dealings with repressive regimes.

Mr Shi’s e-mail was picked up by Chinese authorities with the assistance of Yahoo. The internet service provider gave state security authorities information that allowed them to trace the message to a computer he used at the newspaper where he worked, Contemporary Business News.

Yahoo has argued that it must comply with the laws in the countries where it operates, and was therefore compelled to cooperate with state security authorities. And while those who do business around the globe must often deal with non-democratic governments, we believe that new media companies that provide more and more of the means for global communications, have a special responsibility. They have an obligation to ensure that the basic human rights of their users will be protected, and they must carefully guard against becoming accomplices in repression.

The Chinese government classifies a wide range of innocuous or potentially embarrassing materials as "state secrets" in an attempt to control the flow of information to its citizens and to the outside world. To describe the information that Shi Tao publicised as "state secrets" is self-evidently absurd. It was information about censorship orders given out to the media by the Propaganda Department instructing them on how they should cover the anniversary of the Tiananmen events.

Mr Shi knew the risks he was taking by publicising the information -- dozens of journalists and cyber-dissidents languish in Chinese jails for similar actions -- yet he nevertheless made the courageous decision to disseminate this information. I would like to think that any professional reporter in a democracy would do the same, and Mr Shi serves as an inspiration to all of us.

In accepting the award on her son's behalf, Gao Qinsheng began:

I feel deeply honored for my son to be receiving this honor. Shi Tao is a professional journalist but also a direct victim of the shackles of Press Freedom. He received the heavy sentence of 10 years imprisonment in 2004 because he published what the authorities considered should not be made public. He has been in prison for 3 years now.

In China he is taken as a criminal, but today WAN, made up of over 100 newspaper organizations, awards him the Golden Pen of Freedom. It is not only an honor but also a huge comfort to Shi Tao.

It proves that my son is indeed innocent. He has only done what a courageous journalist should do. That is why he has got the support and the sympathy from his colleagues all over the world who uphold justice, the colleagues who have been concerned about Shi Tao who has lost his freedom, been locked up in prison.

Click here for the full text of her speech. I spoke to Gao afterwards and she confirmed that Yahoo! has made no apology to her and made no attempt to help get Shi Tao released from jail.

Here is a video of part of her speech (in Chinese):

Comments

[mahathir_fan]

"And while those who do business around the globe must often deal with non-democratic governments,"

How can George Brock be a journalist? China is a democratic government. Elections are held every 5 years. This I learnt from the CIA world factbook. Also, I have not read anywhere that people in good standing had been forbidden from running for elections in China.

Why not challenge one of the Chinese bloggers to run for election and see if he can run? I bet he can. The last Beijing election, people were complaning that there were too many candidates, they were presented with a sea of names and didn't know who to vote.

Well, I throw my challenge again. If you are an American, I want you to run for the 2008 Presidential election. Prove to the world that anyone can be a candidate, not just a Republican or a Democrat.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html

Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held in late 2007-February 2008)

[Charles Liu]

Appearantly you don't need to report the facts to win a political award like the Golden Pen.

What Shi Tao reported about Falun Gong's live organ harvesting allegation is all fabricated by "Blue Team" China haters in NYC:

- NESW reported long time Chinese dissident Harry Wu conduction secret investigation in China and finding nothing:

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20060806_1.htm

- US embassy in China conducted secret investigation and found nothing:

http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf (section CRS-7)

[doug]

when talking to PR people and the subject of Shi Tao, etc. comes up, I am often told that the worst PR move Yahoo! and other web giants can make is to say nothing at all, or to, as is apparently the case, leave the decisions in the hands of a local office, which might operate on the assumption that it is best not to intervene, make a personal judgement call or do something the opposite of what the government prefers.

From the other side of the fence -- and I do reveal my democratic bias here -- it looks like a weakness in the face of adversity when a company as big as Yahoo! says, take whatever principles you like and thrust them upon our company, we don't have our own.

[Rebecca M.]

Charles,
Where did Shi Tao write about organ harvesting? The work that got him into trouble was a completely different subject entirely.
See http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/11.htm

[Charles Liu]

See for yourself:

http://www.google.com/search?q=shi+tao+falun+organ

[jc]

I followed both of the above links and believe Charles has made his points.

For a person like Shi Tao (with his first hand experience in present day China) to support FLG's live organ harvesting allegation, is as a matter of fact a proof of this person's lack of moral integrity.

While this is in no way to agree with gov't's actions, I believe hailing him as anything like "hero" or "freedom fighter" is more of a ridicule and discredit to the organization.

[mahathir_fan]

I followed the links that Charles sent and I don't see any links that implicate ShiTao. Can you resend a couple of direct links instead of a google search results?

[Rebecca M.]

Charles, if you have read the info on Shi Tao's case you will know that the Shi Tao who won the Golden Pen award was arrested in 2004. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2005.The comments made by somebody named Shi Tao on the FLG website were in 2006. People who are doing time in Chinese prisons are not free to provide commentary for FLG websites, I assure you.

[Charles Liu]

R, if this is the case I stand corrected.

Weither FLG actually smuggles articles out, or they are making things up with Shi Tao's name, you'll have to ask them.

I submit, had Shi Tao not been arrested, he wouldn't have won this award.

Also the fact his case is mentioned in the same breath as the discredited indictment concerns me.

If people are willing to allow their silence be expolited for nefarious indictment, I'm afraid the down side is legitmate issues will be tainted by it.

[mahathir_fan]

You should be more careful next time.

Shi Tao's case reminds me a lot of Wen Ho Lee case in the US about 8-9 years ago.

In both cases, they are accused of leaking confidential information to outside sources.

I think Shi Tao got a very harsh punishment - just like Wen Ho Lee.

What I find interesting is that Shi Tao should not have been the only one in jail. The informant who leaked the state secret to Shi Tao should also be in jail. In fact, I think the informant is more at fault, for he knew for sure it is a state secret. Shi Tao may not have known.

[mahathir_fan]

It is unfortunate that in a democracy like China, the President cannot simply issue a presidential pardon to Shi Tao. All laws in China must be strictly obeyed and everyone is treated equally in the eyes of the law. No President can give pardon and no sheriff can free a celebrity out of jail. In Communism, everyone is equal and truly equal. Whether you are the President of China or a janitor, we are all the same in China because this is communism.