The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on China to live up to its promises for a free media by extending media freedom after the Olympic Games period, following a series of attacks on press freedom.

During the Beijing Games the IFJ has monitored the actions of the Chinese authorities and has provided support for journalists in a joint action with the Play The Game sports journalism group.

Since the Main Press Centre for the Olympic Games officially opened on July 25, the IFJ received a steady flow of cases of restrictions or attacks on freedom to report, including cases of physical interference with media workers.

Amongst the most serious cases were:

•    An altercation in Beijing outside the ticketing office on 25 July during which a number of Hong Kong and foreign journalists were manhandled by Beijing police;
•    The beating and detention of journalists reporting on the aftermath of bomb attacks in Kashgar, Xinjiang. Two Japanese journalists were beaten by police on the evening of August 4 , while two journalists from Hong Kong’s ATV were detained and their footage confiscated.
•    Plainclothes officers caught by the IFJ “snooping” on journalists in Beijing on August 7 and 9. A number of plainclothes officers were found to take photos and notes of journalists and interviewees.
•    Beijing police roughed up and detained a British journalist from Independent Television News on August 13 while he was trying to report on a Free Tibet protest at the Chinese Ethnic Minorities Culture Park. He later was pushed into a police van and interrogated.
 
The Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) has announced more than 30 confirmed cases of “reporting interference” since July 25, bringing the total number of incidents between January 1 and August 20 to 152.

The clampdown on free reporting was also apparent during unrest in Tibet in March 2008, and during the aftermath of Sichuan earthquake in May where authorities initially allowed reporters access to earthquake zones but quickly sought to reassert control after critical stories began to emerge.

While the Reporting Regulations allow journalists to interview any Chinese citizen with their consent, police and other officials have consistently barred interviews.

Unfettered access to the internet in the Press Centre itself has also proved illusory. The IFJ was told that though many websites had been “unblocked” by the end of the Games after an international outcry, many pages within those sites remained inaccessible.

During the Games, the Central Propaganda Department has also escalated restrictions on local media, including an order not to report any cases of discontented citizens protesting in Beijing or cases related to food safety. Some local websites were ordered to shut down with no explanation, such as www.315wqchina.com, a human rights violations monitoring website which was reportedly closed on August 20.

“While the situation may in some respects have improved marginally over previous years, China has fallen far short of its promises,” says the IFJ. "Even with the Reporting Regulations in place for the Games, there have been significant and systematic restrictions on media freedom. At an absolute minimum China must extend the existing provisions and use this as the starting point for future reform.”

The IFJ notes recent comments by Liu Binjie, Director of China’s General Administration of Press and Publications, that press freedom was not a “short term policy” and would continue to improve after the Games and after October 17, 2008, when the existing Reporting Regulations expire.

The IFJ calls on China to extend the provisions indefinitely, and to expand their reach to local media.

“China’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression, and until all media have the freedom to report without government interference, this guarantee will remain hollow,” says the IFJ.

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919

The IFJ represents over 600,000 in 122 countries worldwide