Gao Qinrong is a Chinese journalist who was imprisoned for eight years after reporting on a fraudulent irrigation project in his home province of Shanxi

Shanxi

' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....

. He was a winner of the Committee to Protect Journalists

Committee to Protect Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...

' 2007 CPJ International Press Freedom Award.

Gao worked as a reporter for the Xinhua News Agency

Xinhua News Agency

The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...

. His 1998 report on the fraudulent irrigation project was unpublished, but internally distributed to Communist Party leaders. The story attracted attention from other news outlets, and local officials blamed Gao for the media attention.

He was charged with crimes including embezzlement, fraud and pimping, and sentenced to a 12-year jail term. In prison, he ran a newspaper, and he was released after eight years in jail for good behavior. Coverage of Gao's case brought renewed attention to the challenges facing Chinese journalists.