CHINA and HONG KONG: Freedom of the press

Paul Simon forwards a sad article entitled "Why I was fired in Hong Kong" by Jaspar Becker, the highly respected former Beijing bureau chief of the once excellent South China Post (Washington Post, 5/4/02). It is a blow-by-blow account of the censoring of Hong Kong's once free press by the Beijing government. It coincided with the holding in Washington of a ceremony honoring journalists killed during the last year. The US has every right to be proud of its free and excellent press(far superior in every way to TV), but, lest we fall into the sin of pride, let us recognize than even here there are pressures from groups and individuals, as the Middle East crisis makes clear.

Ronald Hilton - 5/5/02