In less than a week's time, Ipod subcontractor Foxconn's legal action against Mainland journalists turns into a global news story.
The story was first appeared in GVO's roundups [1]. On the same date (Aug 24), Chinese citizen journalist websites inmediahk.net (from Hong Kong)(zh) and coolloud.org.tw (from Taiwan)(zh) followed up the news story and translated into English into a to-be-launched citizen journalist website (interlocals.net).
ESWN translates in details the journalist defence statement on Aug 26 and by Aug 28 the news turned global to slashdot.
Yesterday, the First Financial Daily issued an open letter to Foxconn, defending their editor and journalist against Foxconn's legal action in freezing the two individuals assests. The statement also said that such action would enrage the whole media circle. In fact, it has resulted in a series of chain effects within China internet community.
Non-violent Resistance criticized that FoxConn is not dumb, but downright vicious:
Words in the Chinese press circles are, that FoxConn, therefore Hon Hai, had deliberately picked the two journalists from China Business News to sue in a painstaking plot to harrass and intimidate media outlets and journalists. After all, China Business News was not the only newspaper that doggedly followed the iPod sweatshop story.
Sina.com has opened up a special page(zh) on the issue and a blog for two journalists.
ESWN goes through the Reporter.com BBS (zh) and finds out that:
nine of the twenty listings from the top are about the FoxConn case with words like boycott,” “disgust,” “condemnation,” “paper tiger” for FoxConn and words like “admiration” and “victory” for the First Financial Daily reporters.
Keso extends the discussion to the lack of legal protection to mainland journalists:
一部《新闻法》，难产了20年，至今没能生下来。没有法律保护的“加强舆论监督”，基本上是一句废话，结果无非是变成“加强监督舆论”。富士康之所以如此有恃无恐，是因为法律明白无误地站在它那一边。