Officials Investigate Reports of Censorship at Olympic Press Center

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: New York Times

Western journalists working at the Main Press Centre in Beijing say they could not access the website for Amnesty International on Tuesday, a claim that officials with the International Olympic Committee say they are investigating, according to Reuters.

The website’s unavailability came a day after Amnesty International issued a harsh report criticizing China for failing to live up to promises that it would improve its human rights record ahead of the Olympics. Kevan Gosper, chairman of the I.O.C.’s Press Commission, also said he would look into reports of slow Internet access at the Centre, which by the time the Games begin on August 8 is expected to welcome 20,000 accredited journalists.

Sam Zarifi, Amnesty’s Asia Pacific director, said he began hearing about the problem after he directed reporters working at the Main Press Centre to his website to view the recently released report. “It is really disappointing,” he said in a telephone interview. The Chinese government’s “one big, begrudging promise was that foreign media would have free access on all issues, everywhere.”

Zarifi said that in addition to the Amnesty International site, he also received reports that other sites were also unavailable, including those belonging to the German news station Deutsche Welle and BBC’s Chinese websites.

China loosened the regulations governing foreign media earlier this year and has promised the I.O.C. that journalists covering the Games would have the same freedom to report as at previous Olympics....

Read more: http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/officials-investigate-reports-of-censorship-at-olympic-press-center/index.html?hp

[katty]

1. o please, this should not be a surprise to anyone

[truthisfreedom]

2. And their air quality is crap. So nothing has changed. This was completely predictable.

China mouthed the words we wanted to hear so they could have this feather in their cap. And bush was all for it. He's 100% behind China's way of doing business.

[katty]

3. the whole thing is a clusterf**k--it will get worse

[annabanana]

4. Will hosting the Olympics backfire for China?

Will they be unable to "loosen up" for all the Western journalists and piss them off enough for a stream of actual journalism to pour out?

[katty]

5. loosen up?! hardly - the media nets are already complaining

they will all get 'minders'.

[DebbieCDC]

6. Of course der chimp was all for it

China holds the purse strings to our debt. If they call in our marker we're toast.

[katty]

7. right!

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. More and more, it is becoming obvious that giving China the Olympics was bad decision

Aside from China's atrocious human rights record, there is fact that censorship is a way of life in China. And don't get me started on the extreme air pollution in Beijing.

[donco6]

12. I agree. Imagine the opening scene:

Graphics swoop into the scene, the familiar Olympic trumpets blaring, commentators welcoming viewers to the XXXXXCVIDSFFGDS Olympic Games in Beijing . . . tada!

And all you see is grey muck.

Just effing perfect.

[Eugene]

9. Reuters: IOC admits Internet censorship deal with China

Source: Reuters

IOC admits Internet censorship deal with China
Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:41am EDT

By Nick Mulvenney

BEIJING (Reuters) - Some International Olympic
Committee officials cut a deal to let China block
sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted
access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday.

Persistent pollution fears and China's concerns
about security in Tibet also remained problems for
organizers nine days before the Games begin.

China had committed to providing media with the
same freedom to report on the Games as they enjoyed
at previous Olympics, but journalists have this
week complained of finding access to sites deemed
sensitive to its communist leadership blocked.

-snip-

"I also now understand that some IOC officials
negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive
sites would be blocked on the basis they were
not considered Games related," he said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN3039947420080730

[Robb]

10. NYT: China to limit web access during games

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/sports/olympics/31china.html?ref=asia

BEIJING — The Chinese government has confirmed what journalists arriving at the lavishly outfitted media center here have suspected: contrary to previous assurances by Olympic and government officials, the Internet will be censored during the upcoming Games.

(snip)

Since the Olympic Village press center opened on Friday, reporters have been unable to access scores of Web pages — among them those that discuss Tibetan succession, Taiwanese independence, the violent crackdown of the protests in Tiananmen Square and the sites of Amnesty International, Radio Free Asia and several Hong Kong newspapers known for their freewheeling political discourse.

A government spokesman initially suggested the problems originated with the site hosts, but on Wednesday, he acknowledged that journalists would not have unfettered Internet use during the Games, which begin Aug. 8.

(more)

[ohio2007]

11. Tehran Debates Breaking Dress Code To Broadcast Women At Olympics ( somewhat related)

its a week old but the world is beating a path to Chinas door. Censorship is a two way street ;)


snip
For years, Iranian women have been active in regional and international sports competitions, but religious laws in Iran prevent women from being seen on television without an Islamic hijab. While Iranian women play sports dressed in the traditional hijab, their international competitors do not -- and therefore cannot be shown in Iranian broadcasts.

For this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, however, Iranian authorities might allow state television to broadcast the women's events.
snip
http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1185739.html

What next ?
Allow Chinese beer comercials to be "consumed" by curious Iranian watching eyes ?