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