I am also not Chinese, American or European, but I will say that prejudice is totally warranted against authoritarian regimes. Free press simply refers to an ability to present an opposing view point, which authoritarian governments despise.

Where is the opposite point the western "free press" saying, maybe China is not committing Genocide? Because reading publications like The Economist, The New York Times or The Guardian you will never find it.Where is the opposite point in the mainstream press asking for GW Bush to be trialed as a war criminal (which he is)?

So according to your logic, both "x is True" "x is False" should appear side by side? That is not the meaning of free press.

No, but nice strawman, congrats. According to my logic , if A does something wrong and it is heavily criticized in the press, when B does the same I expect the same level of criticism and that does not happen at all. Then it is obvious the press is responding to many incentives (political , economical, tribal) which make it not really that free.

> Where is the opposite point the western "free press" saying, maybe China is not committing Genocide?

For example, you are saing it here, on English-speaking website located in USA. And you are not scared of possible consequences for you and your family.

I am pretty sure there are many better examples, but this one is here and now, and hard to deny.

> Elsewhere you may speak your mind without fear of being locked up or killed.

Like Assange did?

https://cpj.org/reports/2020/12/record-number-journalists-ja...

> This marks the fifth consecutive year that repressive governments have imprisoned at least 250 journalists. Lack of global leadership on democratic values – particularly from the United States, where President Donald Trump has inexhaustibly denigrated the press and cozied up to dictators such as Egyptian President Abdelfattah el-Sisi – has perpetuated the crisis. As authoritarians leveraged Trump’s “fake news” rhetoric to justify their actions – particularly in Egypt – the number of journalists jailed on “false news” charges steadily increased. This year, 34 journalists were jailed for “false news,” compared with 31 last year.

> Within the United States, no journalists were jailed at the time of CPJ’s prison census, but an unprecedented 110 journalists were arrested or criminally charged in 2020 and around 300 were assaulted, the majority by law enforcement, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. At least 12 still face criminal charges, some of which carry jail terms. Observers told CPJ that the polarized political climate, militarized law enforcement, and vitriol toward the media combined during a wave of protests to eradicate norms that once afforded journalists police protection.

But by all means keep believing in a black and white world.

The difference between authoritarian and democratic states is that CPJ wouldn't exist in authoritarian states. The very existence of a report which documents the actions against journalists wouldn't exist in authoritarian states. How hard is it to understand this ?

Even the most authoritarians of the states have inside groups who oppose them (from the dictatorships in Chile and Argentina, to Saddam in Iraq, to Putin in Russia, to Trump in America), the groups can be more or less tolerated in function on how dangerous they are perceived. See the treatment of the black panther movement and the communist party in America.

The narrative is created by powerful people usually with input of the state. Can you in all sincerity claim that the treatment of the Palestinians from the Israelis is not in the same league or even worst? And yet you dont hear anyone here talking about a genocide there and any criticism of Israel is swiftly called anti-Semitic.

Manufacturing consent, good old Chomsky was right, as usual.

Yes, an attempt is always made by powerful forces to create a narrative. But with CCP (or any successful authoritarian governments) there is no "alternative" view point at all. They are always right, and make no mistakes. I haven't and won't claim that Israelis are any better, but CCP does it against their own citizens time and again (Tibet) and CCP apologists, shills come out with "Everyone does it. There is no free press!" arguments. Yes, the state attempts to create a narrative, but authoritarian governments can hold on to a given narrative indefinitely, while democracies can potentially change policies over a period of time.

CPJ, based in New York. Such an organization would never be allowed to exist in China.

It is the likes of the CCP & Trump who would paint the world as black and white, i.e. you're either with me or against me. The rest of us acknowledge that press freedoms enable a spectrum of viewpoints.

But you just said in the previous comment than A) Journalists were not jailed in the west. B) Freedom of the press was a clear cut issue. I would love to see how your brain works.

Again, the organization you quoted would never be allowed to exist in China. Journalists are sometimes jailed, like any other person, they do not get exemption from breaking the law. They have significantly more latitude outside authoritarian countries.