China Censors Web for Olympic Journos

Journalists covering the Olympic games in Beijing will not be allowed access to websites deemed objectionable by the Chinese government, the BBC reports, in spite of promises from the IOC that Internet access would be unfettered. Blocked sites include pages related to the Falun Gong spiritual group, as well as human rights organizations like Amnesty International.

A senior IOC official acknowledges with "disappointment" that some sites will be off-limits to the 20,000 members of the foreign press expected to attend. "I have been advised that some of the IOC officials had negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked," he reports. A Chinese official tells the BBC that journalists will have enough access to do their jobs. "During the Olympic Games we will provide reporters with sufficient and convenient Internet access so the Olympic Games will not be affected," he said. (More China stories.)