NEPMCC 举办2025世界新闻自由日纪念活动

5月3日（星期一）是联合国宣布的年度（2025）世界新闻自由日(World Press Freedom Day）。5月2日晚，加拿大民族传媒协会(NATIONAL ETHNIC PRESS AND MEDIA COUNCIL OF CANADA～NEPMCC)在多伦多市政大楼会议厅举行纪念、庆祝活动。

共120多人参加了这个世界性媒体人的活动，包括联邦、省、市三级政府相关政要及媒体单位的媒体人。加拿大民族传媒协会宗旨是：”寻求和公布真相，捍卫言论自由和依法平等待遇的权利，珍重人类经验的多样性，为无声者说话，参与公民辩论，以建设我们的良好社会环境，并为公共利益服务。”协会包括了加拿大803家非英语媒体，有100多种媒体语言汇集。

协会主席Thomas S. Saras讲话

协会主席Thomas S.Saras在讲话中，特别强调新闻自由的重要性、媒体职业的专业性。Thomas S.Saras说，新闻职业是当今最危险的职业，因为2024年是破纪录的新闻屠杀年。根据保护新闻工作者委员会的统计数字，2024年，全世界被杀害的记者/媒体工作者总数为124人，在执行工作中遇害的记者为103人，此外，根据保护记者委员会、国际妇女媒体基金会和无国界记者组织汇编的名单，截至2024年底，全球有361名记者被关押在监狱。在他的讲话中也例举了一些为新闻自由而受迫害、进监狱的媒体同仁。

活动缅怀了年度为自由而牺牲的媒体人，全场起立为为自由而牺牲的媒体人默哀。 

同时，现场为8名为新闻自由提供良好服务、作出卓越贡献的新闻工作者或支持者颁了奖。

获奖嘉宾

当晚，正值协会主席Thomas S. Saras的86岁生日，在后来的酒会上，全场为德高望众的他祝福生日快乐。

《枫华之声》多伦多分部主任王鑫博士和记者/编辑胡月冰出席了本次活动。

王鑫和协会主席Thomas

加拿大中文记者媒体协会的部分成员在活动上

协会主席Thomas S.Saras现场接受媒体采访

附录：协会主席Thomas S. Saras讲话全文

SPEECH BY THOMAS S.SARAS,ON THE PRESS FREEDOM Dy2025

Dear friends, Brothers and Sisters in the Canadian Ethnic Press, First of all I want to thank you for being with us tonight,to celebrate the life and struggles of our brothers and sisters, our comrades in our struggles for justice and democracy and the protection of innocent non compact people.

2024 is a record-breaking year for press killings fueled largely by the Israel-Gaza war.

From the statistics of the CPJ we do have for last year 2024

Total number of journalists/media workers killed worldwide 124 for 113

Total number of work-related journalists killing 103 against 81 before

Highest number of press members killed

By a single country in a year. (Israel) 85 2024/ 78 2023

Number of Palestinian Journalists/Media Workers killed 82 2024/ 75 2023

Number of freelancers killed 43 2024, 24 previously

Among those numbers also included the journalists that murdered by the states as follows:

Haiti 2, India1, Iraq2, Israel10, Mexico1, Mozambique1, Myanmar3, Pakistan3, Sudan1.

Besides, in the compiled list of the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Women’s Media Foundation and the Reporters Without Borders 361 journalists were behind Bars worldwide at the end of 2024.

This number is up from 320, the number of 2023.

Today the list is referring to 

JIMMY LAI of (HONG KONG)

Since December of 2020 Jimmy Lai Ghee-ying has been jailed in solitary confinement in a Hong Kong maximum security prison. He is 77 year old media entrepreneur. According to his son he jailed for“ his dedication to freedom, they have taken his away. For his bravery in standing in defense of others, they(the authorities), have denied him human contact.

SHIN DAEWE(Myanmar)

Award-Winning documentary filmmaker Shin Daewe was ordered a life sentence in 2024 on charges of illegal possession of an unregistered drine, she was ordered and received on line.

FRENCHIE MAE CUMPIO (Philippines).

Have been held in pretrial detention for five years. She was arrested by the authorities on charges of illegal firearms possession and terrorism financing, charges denied by her.

PHAM DOAN TRANG (VIETNAM)

Vietnamese author, journalist and activist Phan Doan Trang, 45 arrested in 2020 and accused of anti-state propaganda.

IHAR LOSIK (BELARUS)

Freeland journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Belarus Service was detained in June 2020 in advance of Belarus elections of August. He was tried on Charges including organization of mass riots and incitement to hatred.

SEVINJ VAGIFGIZII, (AZEDRBAIZAN)

Since 2023, Azerbaijan has implemented a major crackdown on independent press, criminally charging at least 16 journalists including Sevinj, the editor in chief of anticorruption investigative outlet Abzas Media. 

BLADYSLAV YESYPENKO (RUSSIA)

Is one of at least 18 Ukrainian journalists from the occupied Crimea being held in Russia on politically motivated charges.

LI YANHE (CHINA)

China remains the world’s leading jailer of journalists, holding at least 150 behind bars according to RSF and CPJ reporting in December of 2024.

Among them is Taiwan-based radio host and publisher Li Yanhe who was arrested two years ago during a trip to Shanghai.

MAKHABAT TAJIBEK KZY, AZAMAT ISHENBEKOV, AIKE BEISHAKEYEVA, (KYRGYZSTAN)

In February, Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court confirmed sentences against three journalists for charges of calling for mass unrest, claiming they were spreading false information and calling for riots. According to Amnesty International.

JOAKIM MEDIN(TURKEY)

Joakim Madin is a special correspondent for the Swedish newspaper ETC. He has been held in a high-security prison in Silivri, Turkey by authorities of the dictator Erdogan of this Country. He was arrested earlier in Konstantinoupolis (known as Istanbul), while traveling to report on civil unrest in the city and was accused of insulting the dictator president of the country Recept Tayyip Erdogan, and also that he is belonging to an armed terrorist organization.

This is the main way the authorities in this country are arresting journalists that are reporting the truth and only the truth,

Thank you.

记者 胡月冰 By Local Journalist Initiative