Asian media freer in 1998

Asian media freer in 1998

BANGKOK (AFP): Press freedom in Asia is improving but China and Myanmar are still among the worst countries in the world for the oppression of journalists, a leading international journalists' organization said on Monday.

Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, said journalists in Asia had enjoyed better conditions in 1998, especially with the collapse of the Soeharto regime in Indonesia.

But it said dozens of reporters remained in prison or had died doing their jobs in the region last year.

In a report to mark World Press Freedom Day on Monday, RSF said 14 journalists were in prison in China and "at least" seven in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, as of Jan. 1 this year.

China and Ethiopia vied for the distinction of being the country with the most journalists in jail, ahead of Syria, Myanmar and Turkey.