October 2021: A Nobel for journalism, a mass release of prisoners, and a raft of repressive new laws. Maria Ressa became the first Filipino Nobel laureate for her work as a journalist and truth crusader. Journalists were among the prisoners released in Myanmar, but 20 are still in detention. Several laws that could undermine freedom of expression were passed in October including the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill in Singapore. Read more
November 2021. #MeToo in China, prisoner release in Cambodia, and landmark legislation in Pakistan. A Chinese tennis star has accused a former high-ranking member of China’s Politburo of sexual assault. Cambodia has released 27 prisoners, but this is probationary and they could be rearrested. Pakistan’s National Assembly has passed landmark legislation intended to protect journalists, but an amendment has rights groups concerned. Read more
December 2021. Hong Kong’s bleak scenario, court convictions, and a Nobel call to action. Publisher Jimmy Lai received another prison sentence in Hong Kong, pro-democracy news websites were forced to shut down in the aftermath of police raids, alarming court convictions in Myanmar and Vietnam, and a powerful Nobel lecture by Maria Ressa. Read more
Leave a Reply