Chinese citizen journalist Zola was on his way to serve on a jury at the Best of Blogs Awards ceremony in Germany when he discovered he wasn't allowed to leave the country. In a series of Twitter messages documented at Global Voices Online, Zola describes the run-around from government officials that he received as he was sent from one agency to another trying to get answers.
Zola, sometimes called China's first citizen journalist, had his passport and Hong Kong travel card, but was denied exit when he tried to get to Hong Kong. After three days, he was told he would not be allowed to leave the country because he was deemed a "potential threat to state security."
The Chinese government apparently thinks that Zola is a bigger threat outside the country than inside. Zola's travel ban highlights China's policy toward its most visible dissidents -- China's "Great Firewall" doesn't apply solely to its in-country Internet access, but what comes out of the country as well.
Photo of Zola by Shi Zhao. Used under Creative Commons Attribution License.
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