華郵記者被搜索

今晨讀到一則令人不安的新聞：美國聯邦調查局（FBI）依搜索令，前往《華盛頓郵報》記者 Hannah Natanson 位於維吉尼亞州的住所執行搜索，並帶走她的手機、兩台筆電與智慧手錶等電子設備。 

官方說法指向一宗「機密文件／非法洩密」調查：案件核心是一名五角大廈承包商（法院文件所涉人士），被控非法保留與處理機密資料；司法部長 Pam Bondi 也在社群媒體表示，此舉與打擊非法洩密、維護國安有關。 

然而，更刺痛人心的是：多家新聞自由團體與《華郵》本身都形容這是「罕見、強勢」的手段，擔憂它會讓消息來源噤聲，讓記者的採訪空間被恐懼與監控吞噬。因為一旦「採訪」可被等同於「證據鏈的一環」，那麼追問真相的人，便可能被迫在法理與良知之間步步後退。 

國家安全固然重要，但新聞自由也同樣是民主社會的脊梁。今日之搜索，提醒我：一個社會的強大，不只在於能守住祕密，更在於能否容納提問、允許監督、保護說真話的人。

A Washington Post Reporter Searched

This morning I read a troubling report: the FBI, acting on a search warrant, went to the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson and seized her electronic devices, including her phone, two laptops, and a smartwatch.

Officials say the action is tied to a leak investigation involving classified materials—an effort, they argue, to protect national security and deter unlawful disclosures.

But what unsettles many people is the method itself. Press-freedom advocates and the newspaper have described it as an unusually aggressive step that could intimidate sources and chill reporting. When a reporter’s tools of work—phones, notes, and devices—can be treated as part of an evidence chain, the boundary between pursuing truth and being pulled into the machinery of prosecution starts to blur.

National security matters. Yet press freedom is also a pillar of democracy. Today’s search is a reminder: a society’s strength is not only measured by how well it can guard secrets, but also by whether it can tolerate questioning, allow oversight, and protect those who seek the truth.