6 May
2021
6 May
'21
7:55 a.m.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : May 6, 2021
Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org
Radio Free Asia, WHYNOT Win Hong Kong Human Rights Award
WASHINGTON – [ https://www.rfa.org/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA) and its online affiliate [
https://www.wainao.me/ | WHYNOT ] were announced as winners of the 25th annual Hong
Kong-based [ https://humanrightspressawards.org/ | Human Rights Free Press Awards ] .
RFA’s Mandarin Service reporter Amelia Hei Loi earned the top prize in the audio category
for her [ https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/AL-10032020033853.html | series
] on the tensions between the Vatican and Beijing over regulation of the appointment of
Chinese bishops. WHYNOT contributor Jieping Zhang won in the commentary writing category
for her essay [
https://stories.wainao.me/---the-truth-isn-t-dead---you-just-don-t-believe-…
| The truth isn’t dead: You just don’t believe it anymore ] .
“We are extremely proud of our journalists for their timely coverage and commentary on the
struggle for human rights in Hong Kong and China,” said RFA President Bay Fang. “This
recognition is a testament to our incisive brand of journalism, which is more crucial than
ever in providing real, unbiased information to authoritarian countries that censor their
own citizens and the news they receive.
“ With these awards, we are reminded of the important responsibility we bear over 25 years
of bringing free press to closed societies.”
RFA Mandarin’s series on the push and pull between the Vatican and Beijing over bishop
appointments followed developments in the lead-up to the renewal of an agreement between
the two sides in October 2020. Explaining the complex dynamics of relations between the
two parties, the series touched on the surprise resignation of the Bishop of Fujian
province, implications of the developments for the Catholic church in Hong Kong, and the
impact that the Vatican’s cooperation with Beijing has on Chinese Christians.
In her commentary for WHYNOT The truth isn’t dead: You just don’t believe it anymore ,
contributing writer Jieping Zhang traces the history of the Chinese Communist Party’s
(CCP) recent efforts to discredit independent thinkers like popular Weibo users and
bloggers, the upgrade of CCP censorship efforts for a new information age, and the
implications of disinformation for a Hong Kong increasingly under Beijing’s thumb. Her
argument urges readers against the temptation to give into despair as forces of
misinformation aim to discredit fact-based reporting and journalism-- one of the pillars
of democracy and a source of oversight seen as threatening by authoritarian regimes the
world over.
Other [ https://humanrightspressawards.org/25th-human-rights-press-awards-2021-winn… |
winners ] in this year’s competition included pieces submitted from Reuters, Rappler, and
Apple Daily, among others. The Hong Kong Human Rights Awards are organized each year by
the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong, Amnesty International and the Hong Kong
Journalists Association. The stated [ https://humanrightspressawards.org/ | goal ] of the
awards is to increase respect for people’s basic rights and to focus attention on threats
to those freedoms.
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Rohit Mahajan
Vice President of Communications and External Relations
Radio Free Asia