Testing China’s Olympic Promises
Tibetan journalists living in exile are testing the Chinese government’s promises of greater press freedoms leading up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics. In a letter to the Chinese ambassador in New Delhi, the journalists asked for “permission to go to China alongside media journalists from around the world during the 2008 Olympics Games.”
The Chinese government is trying to portray itself as open, confident, and with nothing to hide. When China bid for the 2008 Games, its organizing committee (backed by the government and Communist Party) promised that international journalists would have “complete freedom to report when they came to China.” So based on this, it would seem that the Tibetan journalists should start packing their bags for Beijing. Right?
…Not quite. Reporters Without Borders has issued a damning report detailing China’s failure to live up to its promises. Chinese security forces also detained reporters Tim Johnson (of McClatchy newspapers) and Harald Maass (of the Frankfurter Rundschau) for reporting in Tibet, since Beijing’s promises of press freedom doesn’t apply to Tibet (reporters must still get a special permit to go to Tibet, more difficult to obtain than the permit for tourists, meaning that China retains a veto over press in Tibet despite whatever else it says). It seems extremely unlikely that China will decide to let in the Tibetan journalists, let alone let them report freely as promised. We would love for China to prove us wrong.
So should we expect that the ostensibly new and more open China will let in the Tibetan journalists to report on the Olympics? Or will Chinese leaders act like insecure dictators with something to hide? Will they deny the journalists visas or even simply refuse to respond? Stay tuned.
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[...] We previously wrote about a group of Tibetan journalists testing China’s promise that foreign media will be free to report throughout China before and during the Olympics. We expressed skepticism about China living up to its promises, but hoped that we would be proven wrong. [...]