Posted on August 6, 2014
Liu Hu in an undated photo courtesy of Reporters Without Borders.
Rights groups are welcoming the release of Chinese investigative reporter Liu Hu on bail but warn that China has its own agenda when it comes to whistleblowers and those exposing corruption. Liu Hu was released on August 3rd after nearly a year in detention on trumped-up defamation charges designed to silence him. He still faces trial on a defamation charge for drawing attention to corruption and it is still unclear what conditions there will be to his release.
Liu is the victim of an “anti-rumor campaign” used to crack down on anyone daring to draw attention to corruption. Despite the Communist Party’s pledge to combat corruption, it has continued to go after journalists who expose misuses of power.
A resident of the southwestern city of Chongqing, Liu worked for the Guangzhou-based Modern Express newspaper. He was arrested on August 24th 2013 for “spreading false rumors” after urging the authorities to investigate a local official he believed was engaged in misconduct. Formally charged with defamation after being held for 37 days, his bail request was rejected at that time and one of his lawyers was placed under disciplinary investigation for posting documents linked to the case online.
Announcing Liu’s release, his lawyer, Zhou Ze posted to his Weibo account that the authorities “were unable to proceed with his case in the allotted time frame’’ and noted that certain conditions would undoubtedly be attached to his release. ‘’I have always maintained that Liu Hu is innocent, and that his case should go no further than the procurator[ial] stage. Releasing Liu Hu on bail is a welcome step in the right direction,” Zhou added. After his release from Beijing detention center No. 1, Liu returned to Chongqing.
When I asked Bob Dietz, Asia Program Coordinator at New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists what he thought of Liu’s release and China’s crackdown on journalists exposing corruption, he said ‘’Ten months in prison for whistleblowing. That is what investigative reporting can get you, if you’re lucky, in China. And we still don’t know if there will be conditions attached to his release.’’
‘’The message here is that China’s government from Beijing down to the provinces and townships has its own agenda when it comes to going after corruption — and independent journalism and reporters like Liu Hu, who are not under their control, do not fit into their scheme of things,’’ Dietz warned.
