SCMP sweeps board at Amnesty awards for human rights reporting

The South China Morning Post all but swept the board in the English-language newspaper section of the Human Rights Press Awards yesterday.

Paul Mooney took the two top features prizes, plus three special merits. One winning article focused on the disappearance of mainland lawyer Gao Zhisheng.

Senior reporter Verna Yu won a general news prize for her coverage on Aids activist Wan Yanhai, as well as a special merit with fellow reporter Priscilla Jiao for work on tainted-milk activist Zhao Lianhai .

Yu also won a special merit for 'The Liu Xiaobo Factor' - a feature on the Nobel peace prize laureate () detained on the mainland.

Prizes were also awarded for reports on the diaries of former premier Li Peng , while Minnie Chan and Mimi Lau won a special merit for stories about suicides at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen.

Ng Tze-wei won a prize for stories about mainland lawyers and China's torture techniques. He Huifeng was awarded a special merit for a feature about prostitutes in Wuhan .

Simon Parry, Richard Jones and Ivan Broadhead were also awarded Special Merits for reports in the Post at the ceremony in Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club, which helped organise the awards along with Amnesty International and the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

The South China Morning Post's acting Editor-in-Chief Cliff Buddle said: 'I am delighted to see the dedication and excellence of our reporters recognised by the judges.'