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 Li Chongqing However Li Chongqing was unable to receive his award in person at the WAN congress in Sweden after being stopped at Beijing airport and prevented from travelling to attend the event. In a written message, read out to the congress, Li Chongqing said China had now emerged as the world's largest jailer of journalists.
Li Chongqing, who was a reporter and deputy news director of the Fuzhou Daily in Fujian Province, was imprisoned in 2004 for 'fabricating and spreading false information.'
His crime had been to report on an outbreak of dengue fever in Fuzhou before the Chinese authorities had announced the health scare.
His report on the viral, mosquito-borne disease was posted on Boxun News Network, a Chinese-language website in the US.
Due to censorship and restrictions imposed by the Communist Party Propaganda Department on sensitive social issues, no reports of the outbreak had been reported in the Chinese press.
The award to Li Chongqing, who was released from prison in February, marked the second consecutive year that the annual award has gone to a Chinese journalist. It was the first time since WAN created the award in 1961 that journalists from the same country have won it in consecutive years.
Li Chongqing was prevented from attending the award ceremony, but his remarks to the congress were read out by Li Jianhong, a writer who has been persecuted and arrested and forced to leave China. His message read:
“I am deeply aware that this is not an honour only to me in particular, but also an award in general to all of my colleagues who are bravely devoting themselves to freedom of expression, especially those in China.
 “The facts that Chinese journalists have gotten the Golden Pen of Freedom Award two years in succession, and that China has become the world’s largest jailer of the journalists, have shown that the current situation of free expression in China is of growing concern to the whole world.” 
“The facts that Chinese journalists have gotten the Golden Pen of Freedom Award two years in succession, and that China has become the world’s largest jailer of the journalists, have shown that the current situation of free expression in China is of growing concern to the whole world.” Click here for the entire address by Li Chongqing.
The award was presented by George Brock, President of the World Editors Forum, during the opening ceremonies of the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum, the annual global meetings of the world’s press.
“In most countries, he would be celebrated and honoured for this work,” said Mr Brock. “In China, disclosing such facts is an imprisonable offence.
“The award was made on the individual merits of Mr Li’s case. He went to jail for exposing a serious outbreak of a dangerous disease before the authorities had told the public about it. The Golden Pen of Freedom recognises Mr Li’s brave conduct in revealing significant facts in the public interest,” said Mr. Brock. Click here for the full text of Mr Brock's remarks.
At least 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissidents remain in Chinese prisons.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom and the professional and business interests of newspapers world-wide. Representing 18,000 newspapers, its membership includes 77 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 11 regional and world-wide press groups.
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