Chinese media withdraw from regional journalism competition

HONG KONG -- Chinese-owned media are distancing themselves from Asia's highest-profile journalism prize amid rising domestic pressure on those seen to be "colluding with foreign forces."

Beijing-based Caixin Media, which won SOPA awards for five straight years from 2014 to 2018, has stopped submitting entries in recent years "for obvious reasons," two senior staff members at the company told Nikkei Asia. "We cannot submit, even if we get invitations from overseas organizations, we just cannot participate," said one of them.