ESSEX CONSERVATIVE REJECT CALL FOR MEDIA FREEDOM FOR CHINESE AND FOREIGN JOURNALISTS
Ruling Conservatives at Essex County Council have today (11 September) voted not to use the county's current relationship with Chinese authorities to influence a relaxation of China's oppressive media regulations for domestic and foreign journalists. The Conservatives chose to strike out part of a Liberal Democrat sponsored motion, asking for the administration to use its long standing links with Jiangsu Province in China, to lobby for expanded and permanent media freedom and the release of imprisoned writers and journalists.