Shi Tao (师涛) is a Chinese journalist and poet whose 2004–2005 prosecution became one of the first major cases connecting internet use, corporate data disclosure, and press freedom in mainland China. As an editor at the Changsha newspaper Contemporary Business News (《当代商报》), he was detained in November 2004, convicted by the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court in April 2005, and sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets after emailing notes about propaganda restrictions on media coverage to an overseas recipient. His appeal was rejected by the Hunan Province High People’s Court.
Related record: Shi Tao / 师涛 — canonical Person Profile
The case drew international attention because the court record included account-holder and IP information provided by Yahoo’s Hong Kong subsidiary, used to identify Shi. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported on the disclosure in September 2005, and the case became a landmark example in debates about the responsibilities of technology companies operating under repressive legal regimes. Yahoo was later questioned by the U.S. Congress and settled a lawsuit brought by Shi’s family.
Shi was honored with the CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2005 and the World Association of Newspapers’ Golden Pen of Freedom in 2006 while imprisoned. He was released in 2013 before completing his full sentence, after more than eight years in custody.
This page is the Free China Movement’s canonical media profile and continuously maintained archive of reporting, public statements, legal developments, and advocacy concerning Shi Tao’s case.
Key sources
- Committee to Protect Journalists — “Yahoo gave e-mail account data used to imprison journalist,” September 7, 2005.
- Committee to Protect Journalists — “Release of Chinese journalist Shi Tao was long overdue,” September 9, 2013.
- PEN International — “PEN Member Shi Tao Released from Prison,” September 2013.
- Amnesty International USA — “Chinese journalist Shi Tao released from prison!”
- Chinese Human Rights Defenders — “Shi Tao (师涛),” April 20, 2011.
- Human Rights in China — “Three Domestic Security Agencies Prevent Shi Tao from Participating in Poetry Association Meeting,” 2017.
- Congressional Record, October 18, 2005 (Rep. Wolf remarks on Shi Tao and Yahoo).