Call to support Chinese press freedom

World Press Freedom Day marks the anniversary of the 1991 Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of principles calling for a free, independent and pluralistic media throughout the world. The declaration affirms that a free press is essential to the existence of democracy and a fundamental human goal.

WAN, which has dedicated its World Press Freedom Day initiative to "The Olympic Challenge: Free the Press in China!", is making the materials available at www.worldpressfreedomday.org . Thousands of newspapers world-wide publish the WAN materials on World Press Freedom Day each year.

Failed to respect promises

"Despite promises of reform made ahead of the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese authorities have not only failed to respect them, but they have intensified their crackdown on journalists and others who seek to exercise their right to freedom of expression," says Timothy Balding, CEO of the Paris-based WAN.

"Chinese journalists continue to face censorship and repression, and authoritarian laws, including subversion, disseminating state secrets and spying, are used by the government to control and restrict newsgathering and information and to jail journalists."

More than 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissidents are in Chinese prisons, making China the world's biggest jailer of journalists.

With a record number of foreign journalists headed for Beijing for the Summer Olympics, the Chinese repression will have an impact far beyond China's borders. The materials provided by WAN for 3 May provide a multimedia in-depth look at the problem and include:

• Cartoons created by noted French cartoonist Michel Cambon on the theme of China's failure to live up to its Olympic promises of reform. The cartoons, including an animated version for websites and broadcasters, can be found at www.wan-press.org/3may/2008/cartoons.php?id=656.
  
• Public service advertisements, created by major advertising agencies and by WAN itself, calling for remembrance of China's lack of press freedom and what it means to its population, as viewers watch and enjoy the Olympic Games. The advertisements can be found at www.wan-press.org/3may/2008/articles.php?id=699.
  
• Editorials by noted Chinese activists and others to run on op-ed pages on 3 May. The texts can be found at www.wan-press.org/3may/2008/texts.php?id=635.
  
• Interactive maps and infographics showing where journalists were killed, arrested and imprisoned worldwide in 2007.
  
• Photographs that newspapers can use to illustrate the articles and other materials, provided by Agence France-Presse expressly for the World Press Freedom Day initiative.
  
• Materials to be used in Newspapers in Education programmes that encourage young people to become aware and active in the fight for press freedom in China.

The materials, which newspapers can use without charge, are available in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. For full details, go to www.worldpressfreedomday.org.

WAN, along with other press freedom organisations, is also organising a conference in Paris on 18 and 19 April on the theme, "Beijing Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom." Details are available at www.beijing2008conference.com/home.php.