Shi Tao (journalist)

Shi Tao
Born	(1968-07-25) July 25, 1968 Yanchi County, Wuzhong, Ningxia, China
Occupation(s)	Journalist, author, poet
Known for	Leaking Chinese Communist Party document; political prisoner

Shi Tao (; born July 25, 1968) is a Chinese journalist, author, and poet. In 2005, he received a decade-long prison sentence after leaking a document from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to a democracy-focused website operated outside China. Yahoo! China played a role in his apprehension by supplying his personal details to Chinese authorities, which triggered criticism from the U.S. Congress, led to an out-of-court agreement with Shi's relatives, and prompted Yahoo! to pledge changes in its operational policies.

Following his incarceration, Shi was honored with two prominent international awards recognizing press freedom: the CPJ International Press Freedom Award and the Golden Pen of Freedom Award. He was released on September 5, 2013, after serving eight and a half years, benefiting from an 18-month sentence reduction. Currently, he lives in Yinchuan, Ningxia, alongside his mother.

Background

Shi was born in Yanchi County, Wuzhong, Ningxia in 1968 and became involved in pro-democracy activism around the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He graduated from East China Normal University in Shanghai in July 1991 and married the following year. Prior to his arrest, Shi worked as an editor for Dangdai Shang Bao ("Contemporary Trade News") based in Changsha, Hunan Province.

Arrest and imprisonment

On April 20, 2004, Shi received an internal CCP directive instructing journalists to refrain from covering the fifteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The document cautioned against infiltration by foreign entities and Falun Gong practitioners and required media outlets to "accurately guide public opinion" while suppressing dissenting perspectives. Using a Yahoo! Mail account anonymously, Shi posted this directive on a New York-based Chinese-language website.

At the request of Chinese authorities, Yahoo! handed over records that confirmed Shi’s account had sent the email. He was informally detained on November 24, 2004, then formally arrested on December 14 under state security legislation for leaking state secrets. His defense attorney sought leniency on the grounds that the leaked information caused minimal damage. Nevertheless, in June, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court sentenced him to ten years behind bars.

Shi appealed to the Hunan Province High People's Court; however, his appeal was dismissed without a hearing. In August 2005, his mother submitted a request for case review which was also denied. He was incarcerated at Chishan Prison where he endured forced labor and developed respiratory ailments, ulcers, and heart conditions. In June 2007, he was transferred to Deshan Prison’s machinery workshop where reports indicated some improvement in his health. Amnesty International documented harassment directed at Shi’s family and noted pressure exerted on his wife to divorce him.

During the torch relay for the 2008 Summer Olympics, PEN International translated Shi’s poem "June" into more than sixty languages as a symbolic protest against his imprisonment. His detention attracted widespread condemnation from global human rights organizations; Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience urging his immediate release. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China identifies him as a political prisoner. Reporters Without Borders campaigned for his freedom while the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned his arrest vehemently. Human Rights Watch advocated on his behalf as an imprisoned defender of human rights.

Yahoo!'s involvement

The case sparked intense debate regarding Yahoo!'s corporate conduct, especially concerning its Hong Kong branch's provision of technical information that connected Shi Tao's email to his personal computer. Reporters Without Borders condemned Yahoo! for acting akin to a "police informant." In 2006, Yahoo! initially appeared before the United States Congress's House Foreign Affairs Committee to address the matter.

In August 2007, Congress initiated an inquiry into Yahoo!'s management of the situation, during which co-founder Jerry Yang provided testimony. The committee concluded that Yahoo!'s 2006 statements—where a company executive professed ignorance of the Chinese government's intentions—were "at best, inexcusable negligence, at worst, intentional deception." Chairman Tom Lantos called on Yang to issue an apology to Shi Tao's mother, remarking, "While you are technological and financial giants, morally you are dwarfs." Representative Christopher H. Smith likened Yahoo!'s conduct to firms that supported Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Yang expressed regret, emphasizing that no employee acted with malicious intent and reaffirmed the company's dedication to free speech and privacy protection. He also highlighted ongoing cooperation with human rights organizations to develop an industry code of ethics. Subsequently, Yang met with Shi Tao's family members.

Later in 2007, the World Organization for Human Rights filed a legal complaint against Yahoo! in San Francisco for supplying information that resulted in the arrests of journalists Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning. After efforts to dismiss the case failed, Yahoo! reached an out-of-court settlement under undisclosed terms.

Prior to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's 2008 visit to China, Yang appealed to her to support the release of Shi Tao, Wang Xiaoning, and other Chinese dissidents imprisoned for exercising internationally recognized rights to free expression.

Honors and distinctions

On October 18, 2005, the Committee to Protect Journalists honored Shi as one of four recipients of the 2005 CPJ International Press Freedom Awards. The accolade was intended to be presented following his release from incarceration.

In March 2006, Shi was awarded the Vasyl Stus Award in recognition of his "talent and bravery." On November 28, 2006, he received the Golden Pen of Freedom Award from the World Association of Newspapers, which his mother accepted on his behalf. In 2009, Human Rights Watch bestowed upon him a Hellman/Hammett grant acknowledging his "dedication to free expression" and resilience amid political oppression.

See also

• Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China
• Jiang Lijun
• Li Zhi
• List of Chinese dissidents