Information controls after Tibet’s mud flow: Human rights groups say journalists and family members have limited speech space

After heavy mud floods in the Himalayas killed significant people, the free circulation of disaster area information has become another human rights issue beyond rescue.Human Rights Watch on August 31Chinese authorities continue to strictly control information in Tibetan disaster areas, journalists are restricted to access and interview, and some disaster-related information disseminators are also punished for so-called "fake news".

Human Rights Watch said its reports showed that journalists in China were blocked from entering some of the disaster-affected areas or interviewing the families of the victims, reporting that they were forced to rely more on official channels. The organization also said that at least 10 people were punished for publishing disaster-related information.

The key to this question is not just freedom of the press, but whether survivors, families of missing people and rescue personnel can communicate directly after disasters, is related to the search for people.

Long-term restrictions on access for foreign journalists, researchers and independent investigators in Tibet have been significantly higher than in most parts of China, and the dissemination of information involving political, religious and so-called national security may also involve criminal risks.

Human Rights Watch also criticized the official social media agenda for highlighting leaders' instructions, police rescue and positive narratives, while the victims' own voice was relatively absent.The organization believes that restrictions on primary disaster images and unofficial information would undermine the public's ability to understand disaster causes, loss scale and rescue effects.

It should be distinguished that what can be confirmed at the moment is that Human Rights Watch has publicly raised the above allegations and concerns; China's official death, disappearance and rescue figures for disasters are government calibration and do not automatically constitute independent verification. For the specific identity of the punished, the basis of the punishment and the case procedure, further access to administrative punishment decisions, criminal documents or party materials is still necessary.

Freedom of information in disasters is not a subordinate issue. For highly closed areas, information control itself directly affects whether the victim can be seen, and also determines whether the outside world can independently check the official narrative.