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Feb. 21 (UPI) —A Chinese journalist’s club said Monday that it was “dismayed” by the reporting environment for foreign journalists at this Winter Olympic Games.
“The Foreign Correspondents Club of China is shocked that China’s conditions for independent reporting continue to fall below international standards during the Winter Olympic Games,” stated the FCCC Monday’s statement.
For example, there is the Beijing-based professional association for journalistsThe report cited an incident at the Olympic ski event in Beijing where a Beijing Olympic official stopped a foreign reporter interviewing a Hong Kong competitor in the mixed zone. This is covered by International Olympic rules.
According to the FCCC statement, the International Olympic Committee later deemed the incident “an isolated” case. “However government interference occurred frequently during the games. This is a symptom for the difficult operating environment foreign media in China.”
The press clubWhich promotesFreedom of the press and exchange between journalists stationed abroad in China were also mentioned in the statement. It stated that reporters were often “frequently tailed or manhandled” when reporting from outside the Olympic venues.
“Most visibly, a reporter from the Dutch national broadcaster NOS, was pulled off camera during a live television broadcast by plainclothes security personnel, despite the fact he had been standing in the spot police directed him,” the FCCC stated in its statement.
The Guardian obtained NOS footage These were the results.Sjoerd Den Daas, a Dutch reporter was being reported near Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium during the opening ceremony. A security official grabbed him and dragged him off.
“Unfortunately, it is increasingly the daily reality of journalists in China,” NOS tweeted later, adding that he was fine and could fortunately complete his story a few more minutes later.”
According to the FCCC statement several journalists were harassed online because of stories they wrote about the Olympics.
Journalists were also told by Chinese authorities that they must be cleared. The FCCC statement stated that journalists are allowed to report in public areas, despite rules that allow them to interview “without threat of interference from the state” and “freely within public areas”.
The statement stated that “Unfortunately, neither rule could be enforced at a time when China was more prominent than ever.”