Wednesday, July 30, 2008

China's Olympic organizers renege on Web access pledge

BEIJING — China reversed its pledge to allow uncensored Internet access to foreign journalists covering the Olympics, dealing another blow to hopes the Games would lead to political change here.

When China was bidding for the Olympics seven years ago, the Communist government promised the news media would have "complete freedom to report." That was one of several assurances designed to ease Western concerns about Beijing's repression of political dissidents.

Beijing Games spokesman Sun Weide said Wednesday that while journalists at the Olympic press center would have "sufficient access" to the Internet, several politically sensitive websites would be blocked, including:

• Those linked to the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned in China.

• Websites mentioning Tibet, the region where Chinese police cracked down on separatists in March, leaving at least 22 people dead.

No comments: