press freedom · Full chronicle and history

On November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, Reporters Without Borders released its 2026 list of Predators of Press Freedom based on the World Press Freedom Index, naming those responsible for the regression of press freedom.

According to Clash Report, Israeli police arrested 10 settlers in the West Bank.此前, these masked settlers had attacked a Washington Post photojournalist and assaulted a European diplomatic convoy. The arrests came after the United States and European countries pressured the Israeli government to take action against settler violence.

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs made public remarks, pointing out that the current efforts to counter the propaganda Russia spreads everywhere are insufficient, and warning that modern social media combined with new artificial intelligence technology are easily influencing people's minds. He also mentioned that Ukraine attacked three Yandex centers, which drew attention and discussion on social media.

According to Radio France Internationale, Russia has accused a Japanese journalist of espionage and arrested him.

The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have suspended the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)'s FM broadcast service across the country on the grounds of "multiple violations," without disclosing the specific details of the violations. The BBC said that millions of Afghans rely on its news service and that it is currently in talks with the Taliban authorities over the matter. The ban remains in effect.

Red Star News previously reported that in the same dispute over the death of a cherry tree, self-media writer Li Guangjun was found by a court to have committed reputation infringement for publishing related articles and was ordered to pay 200,000 yuan in economic losses; the three articles involved totaled only 103 reads.

On October 2, Hong Kong’s “Courtline” and “Independent Media” reported that Tang Ho-wing, founder of the online media outlet “Explosion Head,” and dentist Lee Ying-chi were granted bail. Tang walked out of the Yau Ma Tei Police Station in the early hours of that day and left after thanking reporters. The two were arrested on September 30 in connection with an activity outside Prince Edward Station on August 31 and related reporting; the police investigation on suspicion of incitement is still ongoing, and bail does not mean the case has been dropped.

On September 30, Tang Ho-wing, founder of the Hong Kong independent online media "Boom News - Afro," was arrested by the Hong Kong police on suspicion of "publishing false information to incite" on August 31, when he was reporting on a rally commemorating the anniversary of the 2019 crackdown on protests. The Hong Kong Journalists Association said he is the first journalist arrested on suspicion of incitement since the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance took effect, and Reporters Without Borders condemned the weaponization of national security procedures.

On September 30, Tang Ho-wing, founder of the Hong Kong internet media outlet “Explosion Head,” and dentist Lee Ying-chi were arrested in connection with an activity and reporting outside Prince Edward Station on August 31, with police launching an investigation on suspicion of incitement.

On September 19, Hong Guangyu, a former reporter for the Beijing Science and Technology Report and a popular science author on food safety, was taken away across provinces in Xiamen by the Zhongshan Branch of the Dalian Public Security Bureau. He was criminally detained on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and is currently being held at the Dalian Detention Center. Netizens exposed the incident on September 24, and his family confirmed it.

The lawsuit filed by Hong Kong Journalists Association Chairwoman Ronson Chan Man-fai against Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, over his dismissal has concluded. The court ruled that Dow Jones obstructed the exercise of union rights, but the claim of illegal dismissal was not established. Sentencing will be scheduled for a later date.

On September 10, 2026, the Jinjiang Branch of the Chengdu Municipal Public Security Bureau lifted the bail for Liu Hu due to changes in the case. Lawyer Zhou Ze posted the decision, announcing the end of the criminal prosecution initiated in February of this year, and Liu Hu will not need to stand trial.

On August 14, 2026, after Hong Kong independent bookstore Liu Xia Bookhouse was searched by the police's national security division, which took away several people and announced a suspension of business, a number Hong Kong residents posted sticky notes in front of the bookstore to show their support.

On July 17, 2026, more than 50 international human rights and press freedom organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, Safeguard Defenders, and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, issued a joint statement calling on the Thai government to urgently halt the deportation of Chinese exiled investigative journalist Bai Zhaodong.

On July 17, 2026, Mandy, manager of the independent bookshop Liu Xia Bookshop, who had earlier been taken away in handcuffs during a search operation by the Hong Kong Police's National Security Department, along with two other arrested employees, were granted bail pending investigation and left the police station.

On July 15, 2026, the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force searched the independent bookstores "Lau Ha Shuk Se" and "Tin Yuen Shuk Uk", arrested five staff members and persons in charge on suspicion of committing the sedition offense under Article 23 of the Basic Law, and seized multiple boxes of books.

On July 2, 2026, Lam Wing-kee, who had been secretly detained by the Chinese Communist Party for eight months over the Causeway Bay Books incident and rebuilt the bookstore after fleeing to Taiwan, died of illness at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei at the age of 70; Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council and people from various walks of life expressed deep condolences one after another.

When former US President Trump visited Beijing, he personally requested that Xi Jinping release Jimmy Lai, but did not receive a positive response.

On February 2, 2026, the Jinjiang Branch of the Chengdu Public Security Bureau announced that former investigative journalist Liu Hu and self-media person Wu Yingjiao were subject to criminal coercive measures on suspicion of fabricating accusations to frame others and illegal business operations. The two had previously published reports alleging that Pu Fayou, the Party Secretary of Pujang County, was suspected of illegally seizing corporate assets. The incident sparked condemnation from journalist organizations and public opinion both at home and abroad. On February 14, the police, citing the application of the two individuals, changed the coercive measures to release on bail pending trial in accordance with Article 67 of the Criminal Procedure Law. On September 10, 2026, defense lawyer Zhou Ze released the decision of the Jinjiang Branch to lift the bail pending trial, citing 'changes in the case circumstances,' and Liu Hu would not need to stand trial. Liu Hu had previously filed real-name reports against several high-ranking officials between 2012 and 2013, leading to multiple detentions.

After its management was arrested and its assets frozen, Apple Daily was forced to cease publication, with its final issue printing 1 million copies.

Hong Kong police conducted their first large-scale raid on the headquarters of Next Digital, paving the way for the subsequent closure of Apple Daily.

In 2016, Xi Jinping made clear at the symposium on the Party's news and public opinion work that media sponsored by the Party and the government must bear the Party's name, that media work must embody the Party's will and reflect the Party's positions, and he emphasized giving priority to positive publicity.

On October 19, 2013, New Express Daily reporter Chen Yongzhou was criminally detained across provincial lines by Changsha police on suspicion of damaging commercial reputation after publishing reports critical of Zoomlion; the newspaper subsequently ran "Please release him" on its front page.

Southern Weekend's New Year's address "Chinese Dream, Constitutional Dream" was withdrawn by the Propaganda Department of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, marking an intensification of media control.

In November 2009, Southern Weekly left its front-page headline blank, using an empty layout to protest the propaganda department's forced removal of an editorial accompanying an interview with Obama.

On January 24, 2006, Ice Point Weekly of China Youth Daily was ordered to suspend publication by the Publicity Department of the Communist Youth League Central Committee because it had published an article by Yuan Weishi questioning history textbooks; editor-in-chief Li Datong and deputy editor-in-chief Lu Yuegang were dismissed, and neither of them returned when the publication resumed on March 1.

After being released on July 19, 2004, Jiang Yanyong remained under long-term surveillance and in a state of house arrest; on March 22, 2005 he regained freedom of movement, but was told he was barred from accepting interviews and given other restrictions, and approval to go abroad was not granted.

On March 19, 2004, Guangdong courts sentenced Southern Metropolis Daily general manager Yu Huafeng to 12 years and Li Minying to 11 years in first instance for embezzlement, bribery and other crimes; editor-in-chief Cheng Yizhong was arrested the same day and released without charge about 4 months later, and the sentences of Yu and Li were later substantially reduced.

On the night of June 4, 1989, CCTV Evening News anchors Du Xian and Xue Fei wore dark clothing, speaking in extremely slow and subdued tones to broadcast the news of martial law troops entering the city, and were subsequently transferred from their posts.

On May 4, 1989, reporters and editors from the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, Guangming Daily, and China Youth Daily took to Chang'an Avenue, carrying banners demanding that the news must tell the truth.

Because the World Economic Herald published an article commemorating Hu Yaobang, Shanghai Municipal Party Secretary Jiang Zemin ordered the article pulled and suspended editor-in-chief Qin Benli for self-reflection, sparking protests by journalists and students.