Foreign Correspondents Club of China

FINAL COUNTDOWN: 100 Days Before the Beijing Games, FCCC Concerned about Deteriorating Reporting Conditions

BEIJING, APRIL 30, 2008 -- Reporting restrictions, death threats against foreign correspondents and official statements demonizing Western media risk creating a hostile environment for international journalists planning to cover the 2008 Games, says the FCCC. With 100 days to go, the FCCC urges authorities to investigate the death threats, which violate Chinese law, and to undertake other measures help fulfill Beijing's Olympic promises.

These include nationwide implementation of the Olympic reporting regulations, including full media access to Tibetan communities; investigation of reports of official harassment of foreign media; timely issuance of press visas; improved government transparency; guarantees that Chinese nationals who speak to foreign media will not be punished or intimidated; and an early pledge to extend the current foreign media reporting regulations after they expire in October 2008.

The statement includes an appendix with views from six veteran sports journalists on reporting conditions in the run-up to the Games. For the full statement click HERE.

Committing Journalism: The FCCC Reporters' Guide to China

Let’s face it: China is a great story. The booming economy, intriguing politics and fast-changing society make this a great time to be working as a journalist here – and then there’s the Summer Olympics. Yet reporting in China also presents special challenges. Some authorities still hope to control the information flow; they regard foreign media with suspicion. While the “Olympic reporting regulations” have helped open up the provinces, many local authorities have yet to implement them properly, and foreign correspondents still encounter harassment, interference and detentions. In the run-up to the Olympics the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China has produced this guide to help foreign media – both fresh arrivals and old China hands -- work more effectively and anticipate some of the challenges involved in ‘committing journalism’ in China. Many thanks go to the correspondents and others who contributed to this guide, especially Jocelyn Ford, Emma Graham-Harrison, Francesco Liello, Jutta Lietsch, Ylenia Rosati and Jon Watts – as well as anyone else we missed.This is not an exhaustive compendium; it's intended to complement the growing number of official handbooks. Our guide is a work-in-progress based on input from experienced China-based journalists. We welcome your suggestions; please e-mail fcccadmin@gmail.com with any ideas.

Melinda Liu, Jason Subler, Andrew Batson

April 2008