Fri, August 01, 2008
Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday urged foreign journalists covering next week's Beijing Olympics to abide by Chinese laws and file "objective" reports.
"China's door to the outside world is always wide open," Hu told foreign journalists in a rare press conference exactly one week before the Games.
"Whether during the Olympic Games or after the Olympic Games, we will always welcome foreign reporters to come to this country to cover what is happening," he said, adding China would provide facilities for their work.
"Of course, we also hope that during their coverage foreign reporters will follow and abide by Chinese laws and regulations," he said.
"We also hope you will provide objective and impartial coverage of what you see here so that your report can enhance the communication and understanding between Chinese people and people from other parts of the world."
With 20,000 journalists arriving in China to cover the Games, China is facing unprecedented scrutiny, and it is anxious that the reporters focus on the sporting events rather than delve into controversial political issues.
Government preparations for the Games have also been seen as a litmus test of its willingness to allow more press freedoms.
Although China pledged to allow the foreign press covering the Games unfettered access to the Internet, that pledge was reversed this week with some sites blocked at the main Olympic press centre in Beijing.
Governments and media groups have stepped up criticism of the decision, and China authorities appeared on Friday to give some ground.
China allowed media at the centre access to a small number of other previously censored sites, but a wide array of others remained blocked.
Early last year, China's issued new temporary regulations removing restrictions on where foreign correspondents could report, as long as the people they wanted to interview agreed.
While in theory, the rules marked a step forward in media freedom, authorities have been able to implement them in a selective manner, sometimes barring reporters from covering certain events by referring to their "safety".
The rules are set to expire after the end of the Games and the Paralympics, but China had indicated late last year that they could be made permanent.
(Agencies)
