China journalist association criticise Western media on Kunming attack coverage

The All-China Journalists Association on Monday condemned Western media for their "double standards" reporting on a deadly knife attack in southwest China's Kunming. "Some Western media, who always shout for anti-terrorism and human rights, have turned a blind eye to the terrorist attack in Kunming," said the association in a statement. Certain media assumed an ambiguous attitude to the knife-wielding terrorists, calling them "attackers" or "activists" instead of terrorists, it said. Some even defended the brutal stabbing spree that has caused heavy civilian casualties, the association noted in the statement. "Obviously, it's double standards," it said. "They have violated the principle of being objective and lack professional ethics in journalism." The ruthless killing of innocent people by violent and terrorist elements fully exposed their anti-human, anti-civilization and anti-society nature, and the group of rioters are indisputably terrorists, the association said. "We call on journalists around the globe to obey the code of press ethics, discard political bias, work together to condemn terrorist violence of any form, and uphold righteousness by refusing to spread fake information to defend terrorism," it said. The knife-wielding terrorists slashed frantically at crowds at a railway station in Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province on Saturday, killing 29 people and injuring 143.