Bishop of St Albans asks about support for freedom of the press in China

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 26th June 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support journalists and the free press in China, particularly Xinjiang province.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The UK Government supports media freedom and the right of journalists to do their jobs without harassment. We are disturbed by the increasing restrictions on media freedom in China. We regularly raise the deteriorating situation for journalists in China directly with the Chinese authorities.

We also continue to challenge China in international fora where appropriate. On 21 March 2022, we highlighted the lack of media freedom in China in our ‘Item 4’ statement at the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, and called on China to allow journalists to report without fear of arrest, harassment or reprisal.

Hansard