Chinese authorities cut off internet and mobile services to independent journalists amid surveillance and harassment

Independent journalist Gao Yu’s internet, landline and cellular connections were cut off by Chinese authorities this week, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported.

This came to light when he/she published an article analysing Al Jazeera’s interview with Victor Gao, vice president of the Chinese think tank Center for China and Globalization.

CPJ’s China representative Iris Hsu criticized the move and called for Gao Yu’s communications services to be restored and for an end to harassment through physical and digital surveillance.

“Chinese authorities should restore journalist Gao Yu’s internet and phone services and stop harassing him/her,” Hsu said. “Beijing’s crackdown on dissent reflects its insecurity and fear of critical reporting.”

According to the CPJ report, Gao said authorities have been pressuring her to close her account on X for years. She believes her posts, including sharing her articles, are the reason for her internet and phone access being cut off. Gao now has to access the internet from a friend’s house or a restaurant.

The report also said that Beijing police had instructed Gao to leave the capital from August 29 to September 9, which coincides with the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, a major state-level economic conference. When Gao refused, police told him/her they would monitor his/her home to prevent him/her from going out, a tactic commonly used against dissidents in China.

Notably, Gao was sentenced to six years in prison for “leaking state secrets” in 1994 and was released on medical parole in 1999 after serving part of her sentence. In 2015, she was sentenced to seven years on the same charge, but it was later reduced to five years due to her deteriorating health and she served the rest of the sentence outside prison.

Repression of journalists in China includes arbitrary detention, widespread surveillance, harsh punishments, forced self-censorship, tight restrictions on reporting, and intimidation tactics that often extend to journalists’ families and colleagues.

Physical violence and harassment are also used to control information and suppress dissent.