IFJ Condemns Deletion of Editorial Supporting Ai Weiwei

IFJ Condemns Deletion of Editorial Supporting Ai Weiwei

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed that a May 12 editorial by Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper was removed from its website after only a few hours, seemingly because it obliquely endorsed the actions of artist Ai Weiwei, who has now been held by Chinese authorities for six weeks.

The popular national newspaper published an editorial to mark the three-year anniversary of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and made references to a number of Ai Weiwei’s artworks which delved into the tragedy and its consequences, reports said.

The editorial disappeared from the newspaper’s website only a few hours after it appeared, but a copy can be found here.

“It is because the writer used the editorial, in a very indirect way, to pay tribute to Ai Weiwei,” a Mainland China journalist told the IFJ. “So far as I know the writer does not have any problems, but nobody can guarantee this.”

Ai, 53, was detained on April 3 by security officers at Beijing International Airport as he was about to depart China for Hong Kong. Ai’s wife was finally allowed to see him on May 15 in a police detention centre in Beijing, reports said.

Gao Ge, Ai’s sister, told Hong Kong media on May 16 that the visit was supervised by authorities and Ai’s health is “normal”.

“Deleting this editorial is a troubling indication that Ai is fast becoming a taboo subject in China, which yet again indicates a flagrant disregard by the country’s authorities for the fundamental right of its citizens to freedom of expression,” the IFJ Asia-Pacific said.

“We are deeply concerned that the editorial writer may be at risk of also being targeted for writing a piece commemorating a national tragedy.” The IFJ urges editor-in-chief of Southern Metropolis Daily Cao Ke to repost the article on the newspaper’s official website and ensure the editorial writer is protected from any punitive actions on the part of the authorities.

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries Find the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific Find the IFJ on Facebook here

ENDS

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