Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a non-governmental organization that defends press freedom around the world, held a press freedom award ceremony in Taipei on December 8, 2020, and presented a special prize to Hong Kong founder Chi-Ying Lai as a gesture of support for independent media in Hong Kong, where press freedom is increasingly limited in the face of pressure from Beijing. Reporters Without Borders presented the 2020 Courage Award to Russian journalist Irena Mirashina; the Press Independence Award to Egyptian publisher and co-founder of online media Masher Atallah; and this year’s Impact Award to Afghanistan’s Merman Radio.
In its awards communiqué, Reporters Without Borders noted that the judges wished to express special support for the founder of Apple Daily in light of the worsening press freedom situation in Hong Kong under pressure from Beijing. This is because Apple Daily is currently one of the few media outlets in Hong Kong that dares to openly criticize the Chinese regime, and last year covered extensively the Hong Kong people’s protest movement against sending China to China.
However, Chi-Ying Lai was charged with “fraud” a few days ago, and the magistrate’s court decided to keep him in temporary detention until April of next year, even though the investigation is still ongoing. Li Zhiying filed an appeal against the decision on August 8.
Li Zhiying’s son, Li Chong En, received the award on his father’s behalf from Reporters Without Borders honorary board member Wuer Kaixi, a former leader of China’s 1989 student movement. Wuer Kaixi, who was once a leading figure in China’s 1989 academic movement, noted that both Liu Xiaobo and Huang Qi had received awards for their courage from Reporters Without Borders. Liu Xiaobo died in prison in China in 2017, while Huang Qi is still in prison. He lamented the fact that Li Zhiying was also in prison and could not attend the awards event in person.
U.K.: “2020 is a very special year, and the most special thing, of course, is the neo-crown epidemic raging around the world, but for the people of Hong Kong, who have taken to the streets since last year to fight and persevere, it is also a year of dueling wills, as the world experiences the neo-crown epidemic raging around the world, and the struggles of the people of Hong Kong, plus the millions of Uyghurs who have been displaced. Issues such as internment in concentration camps made the world realize that the Chinese Communist regime was a direct threat to world civilization. It took the world more than 30 years, from the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 to the year 2020, to slowly realize that it was raising a tiger. This policy of appeasement has led to the impact on modern human civilization today. “
“Reporters Without Borders is an organization that advocates for truth, press freedom and freedom of expression. In the 21st century, we also need to put people in jail as the price for telling the truth, which in itself means that our work is still very difficult. It is a great pity that Mr. Lai (Ji-Young), one of the representatives of this courageous organization, received this award. …… is unable to accept the award, because no one else is able to come because of the Xinguang epidemic, and he is unable to come because he is in jail. So, I was quite sad when I gave him the award today.”
According to Wuer Kaixi, RSF’s special awards are usually selected by a jury in the country where the award ceremony is held. This year, the Taiwan jury and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) jointly decided to give the award to a Hong Kong media colleague for the special year of 2020.
The Russian journalist Irena Milashena, who received the Reporters Without Borders Courage Award, is an investigative journalist who focuses on current affairs in the Chechen Republic and is often subjected to physical attacks, death threats, and censorship, but she has always reported on Chechen topics that are considered sensitive.
Egyptian woman Atallah, winner of the “Independence Award,” cited numerous police raids and questioning of journalistic investigations and interviews.
Merman Radio, winner of the Impact Award, is a media outlet in Afghanistan that has worked to advance women’s causes despite threats from Taliban militias and warnings from security services. 15 of its team members are women.
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