Speaking of Ethiopia he states:
. . . today, journalists are denied independent access to sensitive areas and risk up to 20 years in prison if they report about opposition groups designated by the government as terrorists. “We are not supposed to take pictures of obviously malnourished kids,” an Ethiopia-based reporter recently told me. “We are effectively prevented from going to areas and health facilities where severely malnourished kids are, or are being treated.”
This silencing in turn frustrates the ability of aid groups to quickly mobilize funds when help is needed. And with civil society, the political opposition and the press severely restricted, there is hardly any domestic scrutiny over how the government uses billions of dollars of international assistance from Western governments.
Rwanda is another worrisome case. The volume of trade between Rwanda and China increased fivefold between 2005 and 2009. During the same period, the government has eviscerated virtually all critical press and opposition and has begun filtering Rwandan dissident news Web sites based abroad.
He tells us that following China's ascension as Africa's biggest trading partner, its news agency has infiltrated the continent and ensured that China's vision of the role of the press in society trumps that of the West:
Then there’s the influence of China,
which surpassed the West as Africa’s largest trading partner in 2009.
Ever since, China has been deepening technical and media ties with
African governments to counter the kind of critical press coverage that
both parties demonize as neocolonialist.
In January, Beijing issued a white paper
calling for accelerated expansion of China’s news media abroad and the
deployment of a press corps of 100,000 around the world, particularly in
priority regions like Africa. In the last few months alone, China
established its first TV news hub in Kenya and a print publication
in South Africa. The state-run Xinhua news agency already operates more
than 20 bureaus in Africa. More than 200 African government press officers received Chinese training between 2004 and 2011 in order to produce what the Communist Party propaganda chief, Li Changchun, called “truthful” coverage of development fueled by China’s activities.
In 2301 this week we are covering the freedom of the press and the role a free press plays in fostering and maintaining individual freedom. This may help make that point. Limits on the press enable government to keep certain stories out of the public eye and retain an authoritarian character.
