China Under Fire for Media Restrictions

In spite of promises to allow the media greater freedom before the Olympic Games, China continues to restrict foreign journalists, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).  In a report released today, HRW claims that the Chinese government is not only prohibiting negative reporting by local media, but is also impeding, harassing, and even threatening the lives of foreign reporters seeking to provide factual—and as a result, sometimes unflattering—coverage of major issues.  Sophie Richardson, Asia Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch, says the actions are a violation of the pledges made by the Chinese government:

“Proponents and critics of the Beijing Games agreed on one thing – that fewer restrictions for international media and scrutiny of China at this time would constitute progress.  Yet the Chinese government – with the help of the International Olympic Committee – has done its best to impede progress.”

A number of international leaders have announced that they will not be attending the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, condemning actions such as the repression by Chinese authorities of protests in Tibet.  President Bush, however, still plans to be present at the Opening Ceremony in Beijing, despite calls from U.S. legislators to boycott the Games entirely.

Bob Dietz of the Committee to Protect Journalists recalls that coverage of the riots in Tibet was almost completely shut down and that a number Chinese and foreign reporters were detained in the frenzy following the May 12 earthquake.  Many preparations and policies related to media coverage of and access to the Olympic Games remain incomplete, Dietz says.  The treatment of the press in the wake of the events in Tibet and Sichuan province proves that media freedom is not guaranteed, as China’s “government has grown increasingly obsessed with controlling its global image as the Games get closer.”  The government, he predicts, is likely to provide “too little, too late.”
For up to date coverage of the Beijing Olympics, check out Reuter’s “Road to Beijing.”