The International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) urges China’s national broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), to
explain the apparent disappearance of one of its journalists in April 2012.
The IFJ
has learned that Zhao Pu, 40, a host of CCTV’s news bulletin program, was
suspended from his position after forwarding a message using his Weibo
microblog account which advised parents in China not to feed their children
unsafe food products on 9 April.
According
to various Mainland Chinese media reports, the message told parents not to give
their children frozen yoghurt or jelly. Zhao did not provide further reasons
for forwarding the warning except to state that “the inside story is awful”.
However,
many believe that Zhao’s comments were related to the recent food safety
scandal, in which 53 people have been arrested, and 10 industrial gelatin and
capsule factories closed, on suspicion they were manufacturing drug capsules
with potentially toxic industrial gelatin.
Subsequent
media reports alleged that a dairy company Beijing Sanyuan Food Company have
used this gelatin in its food products, but the company has denied the
accusation.
Zhao’s
message was deleted the next day, and from then he has been absent from his
regular hosting position.
Online
reports speculate that Zhao has been suspended from his position with CCTV, as
his comments violated CCTV’s internal policies. CCTV has so far refused to
respond to the accusation. Zhao himself has also yet to comment on the report,
although in a subsequent post on Weibo he quoted a Chinese poem in which the
author proclaims himself innocent of causing harm to others.
Zhao is
the first journalist known to be punished for commenting on the contaminated
drug capsule scandal.
“Food
safety is an issue of great public concern, and one on which the media has a
duty to report” IFJ Asia-Pacific said.
“It is
alarming that Zhao would be punished for comments made in his personal capacity
that seek to alert the community to a serious public health concern. CCTV must
explain why he has been punished.”
The IFJ
urges the CCTV to explained Zhao’s disappearance, and provide a full
explanation of which internal regulations Zhao is alleged to have breached, if
any.
We also
call on the All Chinese Journalists Association to investigate this case, and
assess whether CCTV’s punishment of Zhao for statements made in his own
personal communications was lawful.
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