2008 REPORTING ENVIRONMENT

The reporting environment for foreign media can vary dramatically -- from place to place and even from time to time – and is undergoing immense flux in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics. 

Foreign journalists "can travel anywhere in China. There will be no restrictions."

     -- Olympics Press Chief, Sun Weijia, Press briefing September 2006  

"Foreign journalists will not limit their activities to the Games themselves. They will also cover politics, science, technology and the economy ... the 'related matters' ... actually expands the areas on which foreign journalists can report."

     -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao, December 2006

However, as of early 2008, the degree of press freedom still fell short of international media's expectations in a number of areas. Government phones often went unanswered. Officials sometimes failed to provide timely, if any, responses to requests for information. Foreign journalists had little access to Chinese athletes. Some journalists who sought to cover politically sensitive issues still encountered harassment, interference, and even assault by plainclothed assailants.

For visiting journalists who are not familiar with China's unpredictable reporting environment, keep in mind that China is a rapidly changing country economically and socially, and this holds true for the government's media handling apparatus as well.

Major cities like Beijing and Guangzhou have been relatively open.  You could ask politically "sensitive" questions -- say, about corruption -- and get honest responses.  Some interviewees would allow you to quote them by name, or to film their answers. Others declined to answer, but you usually weren’t putting them at risk.

Other parts of the country have lagged 10 to 20 years behind.  There, people have been fearful of talking to foreign media. In some areas foreign correspondents have been secretly observed by hidden cameras or plain-clothed police. Your approach could put interviewees at risk of detention, intimidation, or co-option.

Hiring a savvy and capable assistant/translator can be key to successful reporting. But please remember your Chinese assistants and colleagues are at much greater risk than you are. New York Times researcher Zhao Yan spent three years in prison in relation to a story which he and his employers say he was not involved in reporting.

Generally speaking, the worst fate most foreign correspondents have anticipated is deportation. The government has not formally arrested a foreign national working for international media for decades. However, Ching Cheong of the Straits Times of Singapore -- a Hong Kong resident holding a passport for the Special Administrative Region as well as a British National (Overseas) passport -- spent three years in prison on spying charges that he says were false.

Although some foreign journalists have been assaulted physically, none have been as badly hurt as Chinese activist Fu Xiancai, who in 2006 was paralyzed from the waist down when unidentified men he says were linked to local officials beat him badly after he spoke to German journalists.

Television crews are likely to attract the most scrutiny and interference because their bulky equipment makes them stand out. But there are also some topics and geographic regions considered especially "sensitive" by authorities. Journalists should behave appropriately.

After riots broke out in Lhasa on March 14, 2008, not only the Tibet Autonomous Region but also many ethnic Tibetan communities in nearby provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, Qinghai and Yunnan became off-limits to foreign media. Since then, the FCCC has been informed of more than 50 incidents of reporting interference. The freshest information on reporting conditions in the provinces often comes from other foreign media. Before you proceed with grassroots reporting, consider Googling for stories on your intended destination, consulting the FCCC website's Detentions and Harassment page, and asking other foreign correspondents for tips. That should give you a good idea of what to expect.