The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

The record

Incidents in Asia

Each incident is a dated action by a government, an official, a regulator, a court or a legislature that limited journalists' ability to gather or publish news.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

All filters: country, dates, head of government, sort
CountryAzerbaijanBangladesh, RSF 2026 rank: 152nd of 180Cambodia, RSF 2026 rank: 151st of 180China, RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180Georgia, RSF 2026 rank: 135th of 180Hong Kong, RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180India, RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180IndonesiaIran, RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180Israel, RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180JapanKazakhstanMalaysia, RSF 2026 rank: 95th of 180Myanmar, RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180North KoreaPakistan, RSF 2026 rank: 153rd of 180Philippines, RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180Saudi Arabia, RSF 2026 rank: 176th of 180South Korea, RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180ThailandTürkiye, RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180Viet Nam
ContinentAsia
TacticDetention and violence 15Licensing and closure of outlets 12Prior restraint 9Expulsion and visa denial 7Secrets and espionage laws 7Insult and defamation laws 6Shutdowns and blocking 6Funding and ownership pressure 5Lawsuits against the press 4Access bans 4Surveillance and subpoenas 4Official labels 4Credential control 4
StageRestrict 1Pressure 9Punish 20Silence 21Eliminate 10
OutcomeSustained 24Ongoing 14Unknown 10Reversed 10Upheld by a court 3
LevelNational 60State or province 1
Head of governmentAndries Cornelis Dirk de GraeffAung San Suu KyiBenjamin NetanyahuCarrie LamChun Doo-hwanDavid Ben-GurionEbrahim RaisiFerdinand MarcosFumimaro KonoeHassan RouhaniHun SenIlham AliyevIndira GandhiIrakli KobakhidzeJohn LeeKassym-Jomart TokayevKim Jong IlLi PengMahathir MohamadMahmoud AhmadinejadMehmed VMin Aung HlaingMuhammad YunusNarendra ModiNguyen Tan DungNguyen Xuan PhucRecep Tayyip ErdoğanRodrigo DuterteSalman bin Abdulaziz Al SaudSaw MaungShehbaz SharifWilliam Howard TaftXi JinpingYingluck Shinawatra

61 incidents match this view. Showing 11 on page 2 of 2.

TableCardsCSVJSONMarkdown
DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
14 June 1989China expels foreign journalists and restricts coverage of the Tiananmen Square protestsChina (RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180)Expulsion and visa denialLi PengSustained (1 January 1990)
18 September 1988Burma's new military government tightens pre-publication press controls after seizing powerMyanmar (RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180)Prior restraintSaw MaungOngoing (1 January 1989)
1987Malaysia: Printing Presses and Publications Act amended to bar court review of publishing permits, 1987Malaysia (RSF 2026 rank: 95th of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsMahathir MohamadSustained
31 July 1980South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controlsSouth Korea (RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsChun Doo-hwanReversed (1 June 1987)
26 June 1975India imposes pre-press controls on every newspaper during the 1975 EmergencyIndia (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180)Prior restraintIndira GandhiReversed (21 March 1977)
21 September 1972Philippines President Marcos closes every major news outlet under martial lawPhilippines (RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180)Shutdowns and blockingFerdinand MarcosReversed (25 February 1986)
1948Israel retains a British-era law giving the military the power to review and restrict the pressIsrael (RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180)Prior restraintDavid Ben-GurionOngoing (1 January 1989)
July 1937Japan: government requires clearance to publish war news under the Newspaper Law, 1937Japan (RSF rank: not recorded)Prior restraintFumimaro KonoeSustained
1926Dutch East Indies: Colonial authorities end publication of the communist newspaper Mawa under Penal Code Article 153 bis, 1926Indonesia (RSF rank: not recorded)Licensing and closure of outletsAndries Cornelis Dirk de GraeffSustained (1 January 1926)
9 March 1913Ottoman Empire bars lawmakers and officials from editing newspapers and jails a leading editorTürkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsMehmed VSustained (9 March 1913)
1901Philippines: United States colonial government's libel law is used to close the newspaper El RenacimientoPhilippines (RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180)Insult and defamation lawsWilliam Howard TaftUpheld by a court (1 January 1914)
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