Circle 19: a vital resource for the Chinese public’s right to information
In the year since Circle 19 for the Right to Information in the People’s Republic of China held its inaugural symposium in collaboration with Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the civil society group has compiled a wide range of intellectual and technical resources for the Chinese people to take action and fight for this fundamental right.
Exactly one year ago, on 12 September 2023, the independent civil society group Circle 19 for the Right to Information in the People’s Republic of China (circle19.org) was officially launched in Paris with the support of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Since then, Circle 19 – an independent group composed of approximately 30 media practitioners and experts from the Chinese diaspora and the international community – has assembled a rich array of intellectual resources to support the Chinese public’s right to information.
This toolkit includes their Statement of Principles, which reaffirms the right to information as an integral part of China's legacy and was endorsed by 53 NGOs to date; a selection of 24 investigative news reports that had an historical impact on Chinese society; and a catalogue of over 100 media sites providing uncensored information on China.
“With growing efforts to tighten media and control the internet by Xi Jinping’s regime over the past decade, it has become increasingly difficult for the Chinese public to access uncensored information. Against this backdrop, Circle 19 has emerged as an essential resource in providing independent and factual information that counters the biased narrative propagated by Beijing.
“Circle 19” refers to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrines the right to freedom of opinion and expression, heavily repressed in China. The identities of most of the group’s participants are not public for security reasons.
Kris Cheng, a London-based Hong Kong freelance journalist and Circle 19 participant, praises the initiative for its “valuable resources that support the public's right to information, honouring the work of journalists— some of whom were wiped out within China’s borders— with the hope of inspiring all those in the fight to confront censorship.”
Circle 19 participant, Global Voices Managing Editor and long-time China observer Filip Noubel points out that Circle 19 showcases “the benefits of the brief moments when the flow of information was less constricted in China, which allowed its leaders to understand the needs and the wishes of the people.” For Noubel, Circle 19 shows both Chinese citizens and the international community that “Chinese society is mature enough, as it has demonstrated in the past, to enjoy free access to information to enjoy a much more stable future.”
Since the general secretary of the Chinese communist party Xi Jinping took power in 2012, he has conducted a full-scale crusade against journalism, detailed in RSF’s report The Great Leap Backwards of Journalism in China. Due to the Chinese regime’s heavy censorship, surveillance and repression against journalists, almost all independent media have ceased operations.
Ranked 172nd out of 180 countries and territories, China lies at the bottom of RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index and is the world's largest jailer of journalists, with at least 118 currently detained.
