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China Censors Web for Olympic Journos

Sites deemed objectionable blocked, despite promises

By Sam Biddle,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 30, 2008 10:22 AM CDT

(Newser) – 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.

Foreign journalists use Internet services provided at the Main Press Center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
Foreign journalists use Internet services provided at the Main Press Center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Chinese paramilitary police officers take an oath to ensure safety during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in a drill outside the Bird's Nest National Stadium, Wednesday, July 23, 2008, in Beijing.
Chinese paramilitary police officers take an oath to ensure safety during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in a drill outside the Bird's Nest National Stadium, Wednesday, July 23, 2008, in Beijing.   (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A Chinese participant of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony dances after she gets a special pass for the day's rehearsal at a parking lot near the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, Beijing, China, Friday, July, 11, 2008. Beijing organizers have staged a full dress rehearsal of next...
A Chinese participant of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony dances after she gets a special pass for the day's rehearsal at a parking lot near the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, ...   (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)
A Chinese paramilitary soldier patrols inside a fence near the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, China, Thursday, July 10, 2008.
A Chinese paramilitary soldier patrols inside a fence near the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, China, Thursday, July 10, 2008.   (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)
Journalists covering the Beijing Olympics will not be allowed access to an uncensored internet, despite assurances to the contrary by the IOC.
Journalists covering the Beijing Olympics will not be allowed access to an uncensored internet, despite assurances to the contrary by the IOC.   (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Journalists covering the Beijing Olympics will not be allowed access to an uncensored internet, despite assurances to the contrary by the IOC.
Journalists covering the Beijing Olympics will not be allowed access to an uncensored internet, despite assurances to the contrary by the IOC.   (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A foreign journalist uses Internet services provided at the Main Press Center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
A foreign journalist uses Internet services provided at the Main Press Center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Foreign journalists use Internet services provided at the Main Press Center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
Foreign journalists use Internet services provided at the Main Press Center at the Olympic Green in Beijing, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
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China refuses open Internet access
Telegraph (UK)

 
China • Internet • censorship • 2008 Beijing Olympics

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