Stories about Freedom of Speech from May, 2008
China: What the Olympics Will Look Like
Xueyong wonders what the Beijing Olympics will look like after the disaster as people are still in the mourning mood. He suggests that the government should not take the lead in framing the Olympics but leave space for the people to express their emotions and feelings[zh].
China: GFW Upgraded
According to Turnright, the Great Fire Wall internet filtering system in China has recently been upgraded. Apart from website keyword filter, it also filters signatures of Window Live messager.
Saudi Arabia: Being Silly
Saudi blogger Mashi 67 [Ar] affirms he has the right to express himself in any way he wants – even if he decides to be silly and stick to silly topics.
Ukraine: A View From Crimea
Last week, Ukraine banned Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov from the country, after he called for Russia to take ownership of Sevastopol, a Ukrainian Black Sea naval port. The incident received much coverage in the Russian and Ukrainian media and blogs. Below is one more post, written by a Russophone resident of Balaklava, a Crimean town that has an official status of a district of the city of Sevastopol.
Ukraine: More Mayoral Campaign Ads
Ukrainiana posts a few more videos of the Kyiv mayoral campaign ads.
Estonia: “Asymmetrical Bilingualism”
Itching for Eestimaa writes about “asymmetrical bilingualism” and the Estonia report by Doudou Diene, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Iran:A popular site got filtered
Negarakha,an Iranian blogger, says[Fa] that Baznegar,a popular site that covers news about blogs was filtered.Negarakha invites other bloggers to protest against this filtering and talk about it in their blogs.
Bermuda: Free Press
Vexed Bermoothes says that the ruling party's attacks on the free press are attracting international attention: “The fact is, that despite paying years of lip service to freedom of information, the Bermuda Government is doing little to implement it. Moreover, the PLP is using the offices of Government to punish...
China: Magazine Banned
A Chongqing-based magazine, New Travel Weekly, was suspended from publishing for using bikini-clad women on the front page of its May 19 issue. More from ESWN and DANWEI.
China: All CCTV, Entertainment Banned
Sun Bin reported that in the three days national mourning for Sichuan earthquake victims, all T.V channels become CCTV. Literally speaking, most of the entertainment channels, including Star T.V and HBO are banned locally, with a mourning message.
China: Internet Spy Spreading Rumors?
A message mobilizing people to boycott internet spy has been spreading around via e-mails and forums. All negative comments about earthquake relief work are considered as rumors written by spies. Jenny pointed out that the message intended to block and threaten all negative comments rather than dealing with problems with...
Hong Kong: Private Deal Against Basic Law?
Luke pointed out that the private deal between Hong Kong government and the Time Square property management concerning the Time Square public space may have violated the Basic Law [zh], which protects freedom of expression and gathering.
Bolivia: Radio Station Website Hacked
In Bolivia, the website of the radio station where political analyst and government critic Carlos Valverde holds his radio station was recently hacked. Renzo Colanzi of Mientras Estás Aquí [es] has the screenshot of the hackers’ message that states that it was done for Bolivarian integration.
Serbia: “The Other Serbia”
Gray Falcon writes on “the Other Serbia.”
Russia, Latvia: Young Russia vs Edvīns Šņore
Latvian Abroad writes about Young Russia's protest against The Soviet Story, a documentary by a young Latvian director Edvīns Šņore.
Croatia: Feral Tribune's Editor Wins Award
From the Frontline writes that Drago Hedl, editor and journalist with the Croatian political weekly Feral Tribune, has won the Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism Award for 2008. (GV's Sinisa Boljanovic wrote about Feral Tribune last year.)
Macedonia: Greek Pacifists’ Visit
Anastas Vangeli posted his impressions of the anti-nationalistic and anti-militaristic Greek-Macedonian Dialogue which took place last Saturday – in Macedonian and English. The participants were branded as traitors in the Greek media, and the Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Church put an anathema on them in his Sunday sermon.
India: Is Google really evil?
profy on why Google wasn't quite evil when their cooperation with the Indian Police resulted in the arrest of a man accused of posting obscene content on Orkut.
China: One Angle Earthquake Story
Barokoliebe is troubled by the single angle earthquake story told by mainstream media [zh].
China and Hong Kong: Interviewing Earthquake Reporter
Ling Nan from inmediahk.net, interviewed a Hong Kong reporter in Sichuan earthquake center about issues that hadn't been reported in Hong Kong mainstream media [zh]. The reporter also criticized the way official Chinese media handle the news.
Russia, Lithuania: Knight News Challenge Winners
Oleksandr Demchenko writes about the Russian and Lithuanian winners of the Knight News Challenge 2008.
