In a rare event the Chinese have staged a protest over press freedoms, risking reprisals from the Communist authorities in their country. In an article today, Jan. 7, 2013, The Guardian has reported on an Associated Press story, Chinese stage rare protest over newspaper censorship. Protesters have staged a protest in China in support of one of the country's most liberal newspapers amid a growing dispute over press freedom.
Protesters, which has included students, gathered outside the offices of the Southern Weekly newspaper in the southern city of Guangzhou in order to lay flowers at the gate, hold signs and shout slogans calling for freedom of speech, political reform, constitutional governance and democracy. Yuan Fengchu, one of the protesters, has said, "I feel the ordinary people must awaken. The people are starting to realize that their rights have been taken away by the Communist party and they are feeling that they are being constantly oppressed."
Al Jazeera has also reported on this rare protest in China, Protesters in China call for press freedom. The protesters, who gathered on Monday outside the office of Southern Weekly in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, have called for media freedom, which is a taboo subject in the country, holding banners and chanting slogans. Reporters worldwide will now be watching carefully to see how Beijing responds to this protest, with hopes their will not be any arrests or other forms of reprisals.
