FCCC recommendations to International Olympics Committee

REPORTING CONDITIONS UPDATE AND RECOMMENDATIONS, AUGUST-OCTOBER 2007 (submitted to the IOC Nov. 20, 2007)

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

The FCCC regards the Olympic reporting rules introduced in January 2007 as an important step toward improving reporting conditions. Many foreign correspondents have said the reporting environment has improved, and the Foreign Ministry has often been helpful in supporting implementation of the new rules. But concerns about implementation and interpretation remain, and the FCCC continues to monitor them. Between August and October we have learned of more than 16 incidents* of reporting interference that violate the word or spirit of the new rules. We are particularly concerned about the continued use of violence against reporters and their sources. Below are some of the outstanding issues highlighted by recent incidents, and our recommendations for improving implementation of the Olympic reporting rules to bring China closer to standards for reporting conditions offered by other Olympic hosts.

HIGHLIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. FOREIGN MINISTRY HOTLINE:

TREND: The hotline to the Foreign Ministry has often proved useful, however its efficacy is not consistent. At times, no one answers*, or when someone answers the responses are not always consistent with the new rules.

RECOMMENDATION: Ensure that the hotline is operating 24/7, and that the official on duty provides support consistent with the new rules. For example, reporters should not be advised to delete materials that have been legally gathered in accordance with Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution, in order to defuse a tense situation.* The hotline would benefit from better publicity, for example being made known to media officers at all embassies, and to all journalists applying for visas to China.

2. ASSAULTS AND PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS

TREND: In the past two months the FCCC has learned of three cases* where reporters sought help from police because they were assaulted, or manhandled, and one case* where a source was beaten. In two cases, reporters asked that their assailants be investigated, but police have not yet followed up.

RECOMMENDATION: Instruct police and other security personal at all levels to investigate, according to law, anybody accused of assault. Create an institutional mechanism for resolving disputes with public security personnel.

3. OBSTRUCTION OF INTERVIEWS WITH CONSENTING INTERVIEWEES

TREND: Reporters have been denied access to consenting interviewees. In other cases, willing interviewees have been beaten, intimidated, or detained before, during or after interviews.*

RECOMMENDATION: Instruct public security personnel at all levels that according to Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution, interviewees have the right to speak to foreign journalists. Authorities should not intimidate or threaten people who speak to the media. Create a mechanism to handle complaints when reporters are obstructed from speaking to willing interviewees.

4. RIGHT TO REPORT IN PUBLIC SPACES

TREND: Some police and citizens appear unaware of journalists' rights to photograph and report in public spaces. Citizens have sought to delete video or images recorded in a public space, even when the complainants' image was not recorded.* Some police have issued what appears to journalists to be arbitrary bans on reporting in public areas*. In terms of satisfying television news requirements, some authorities are too slow to grant access to news sites -- for example, to Olympics venues.

RECOMMENDATION: Instruct police and other security personal at all levels that filming a crowd and reporting in public spaces is protected by Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution. Provide police with pamphlets to assist with public education on the rights of media, as well as citizens' privacy. For example, individuals may decline to be interviewed, however filming a crowd in a public space is not an interview, and does not require permission. Authorities should not arbitrarily bar journalists from public spaces.

5. BUREAUCRATIC INTERFERENCE, HARASSMENT WHILE INSPECTING DOCUMENTATION

TREND: Journalists report authorities have conducted prolonged inspections of documents such as passports, thus hindering them from doing their jobs for longer than necessary. In several cases, police interrupted or obstructed reporting because journalists were not carrying their Registration Form of Temporary Residence, a document that they are not legally required to have with them. Some plain clothes officers did not identify themselves when they ordered reporters to stop working; did not tell them why they were being stopped; were unusually aggressive or threatening; or tried to force journalists into vehicles or to leave the news scene.

RECOMMENDATION: The FCCC recommends foreign correspondents carry passports and press cards at all times, in keeping with Chinese regulations. Police and other security personal should be instructed that passports and press cards are sufficient for identification. Authorities who request to see documents should act in accordance with Chinese law which indicates civil servants should implement the law with fairness and transparency. The process should take no longer than a few minutes. Police should be aware that many foreign reporters traveling to China are not accustomed to being stopped by police when they are in a public space and behaving lawfully, and the document checks could cause unnecessary friction and misunderstanding if not conducted professionally.

PROPOSAL: Earlier this year, the FCCC fulfilled a request by BOCOG and Beijing Municipal Party Committee propaganda officials that the FCCC organize a sports journalism seminar for Chinese reporters of the Beijing Journalists Association. To help create a reporting environment suitable for Olympic coverage, the FCCC offers to cooperate with the IOC to engage in media and cultural sensitivity exchanges with public security officials, to help them better understand the work and expectations of foreign media.

*Indicates an example of such an incident can be found in the Appendix. The Appendix does not include all incidents made known to the FCCC. Some journalists have requested we keep their information confidential.

APPENDIX: FCCC REPORTING INTERFERENCE INCIDENTS, AUGUST-OCTOBER 2007

I. VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION

SEPT. 10, 2007: REPORTER TACKLED AND KICKED BY THUGS

Reuters correspondent Chris Buckley was tackled to the ground, kicked in the back, and punched by over a dozen thugs while investigating a claim about an illicit detention center in Beijing for petitioners coming to the capital to air grievances. Buckley was attacked while leaving the center, operated by officials from Nanyang City, Henan Province. The thugs took his bag with notes, a mobile phone and camera. He was pinned to a chair; one man threatened to kill him. His attackers called police. He was only allowed to make phone calls after a second, more senior officer arrived. Once Buckley was allowed to phone the Foreign Ministry, its staff were prompt and helpful. They called several times to ask about his well-being, and said they had quickly called the Nanyang city representative office in Beijing. The senior officer returned his possessions and recorded Buckley's official complaint. Up to now, there has been no follow up.

SEPT. 14, 2007: TV TEAM ROUGHED UP BY THUGS, DETAINED WHILE REPORTING ON ALLEGED UNDERGROUND PRISON

A reporting team from Britain's Channel 4 was assaulted by thugs, and then detained by police following interviews with petitioner "inmates" at an illegal detention center in the outskirts of Beijing operated by the Nanyang City government of Henan. The thugs damaged the journalists' camera and tried to destroy their footage. The reporters called the police, who stopped the violence but did not follow through when the reporters tried to press charges of assault. The police told the reporters they couldn't leave until they signed a confession admitting they'd illegally entered a government office. The reporters said they were not aware that they had been filming in a government office. The journalists said a woman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said she could not assist their release. The two visiting reporters, Andrew Carter and Aidan Hartley, were detained for six hours. They were released after destroying a tape. Their Chinese fixer, Dean Peng was detained for 10 hours and is preparing to seek damages. Police issued an official warning to Dean Peng accusing him of disturbing office order. Peng has appealed the case to the district government.

SEPTEMBER: ONE SOURCE BEATEN, TWO INTIMIDATED IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS

A European broadcaster reported three incidents of intimidation of sources. One source was beaten;two were threatened. The broadcaster said none of the sources were discussing "very sensitive" issues.

SEPT. 29, 2007: LABOR RIGHTS ACTIVIST DETAINED IN MIDST OF INTERVIEW IN SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG PROVINCE

Police detained a labor rights activist Zhang Zhiru during an interview with Finnish reporter Sami Sillanpaa of Helsingin Sanomat. Two police officers entered the office and demanded Zhang accompany them to the police station. They refused to say why. The police detained Zhang for several hours, during which they asked him the identity of the reporter, what story the reporter was working on, and how the reporter knew about the Labour Dispute Service Center, which helps migrant workers involved in legal disputes with factories. Zhang was warned not to tell the foreigner "unnecessary things." Zhang was able to meet Sillanpaa later that day. Zhang said police also intervened in March when he and some other labour rights defenders were interviewed by an Australian journalist

II. DETENTIONS

SEPT. 12, 2007: TWO JOURNALISTS DETAINED IN SHENGYOU REPORTING ON FORCED EVICTION OF FARMERS

Reporter Robert Saiget and photographer Goh Chai Hin of Agence France-Presse were detained for nearly five hours in Shengyou, Hebei Province, where they were confirming reports of an August 28th clash between police and villagers. The violence followed the reported recent death of a local farmer from injuries suffered in June 2005, when hundreds of armed thugs killed six and injured 51 farmers while seeking to evict them from their land to make way for a power plant. Local police accused the AFP journalists of illegal reporting and demanded the names of their contacts in the village. The journalists were released after they showed the local Foreign Affairs officials a copy of the new Olympic reporting rules.

SEPT. 30, 2007: TWO JOURNALISTS DETAINED FOR FILMING MATCHMAKERS IN PARK

Feature Story News Reporter Sam Beattie and AFP's Francois Bougon spent ten hours with police after interviewing and filming matchmakers in Beijing's Zhongshan Park. The journalists called the police after four people, including an older woman, grabbed them and demanded they delete footage of the people in the crowd who had not given permission to be filmed. (The four claimed to represent the people in the park.) The reporters showed the woman and other complainants that their images were not recorded. The police tried to find a compromise, and suggested the reporters delete the tape. The reporters declined. At 2:00 a.m., after intervention by a senior police officer and a Foreign Ministry official, the reporters were allowed to depart with the tape.

OCT. 4, 2007: PHOTOGRAPHERS DETAINED IN URUMQI, XINJIANG

Swiss photographers Monika Fischer and Mathias Braschler were detained for five hours after photographing a uniformed man they saw walking along a railway track. The man gave his permission to be photographed. The police said the photographers were not supposed to be on the tracks. The police checked their cameras and asked to see all of their receipts for hotels, food and road tolls since entering Xinjiang. They released the photographers with a warning to "be careful" around Uighur people.

Aug. 24, 2007: SEVEN JOURNALISTS HELD ONE HOUR AFTER INTERVIEW WITH WIFE OF BLIND ACTIVIST CHEN GUANGCHENG

Seven journalists from three media outlets, including Hong Kong's Cable TV, were held for one hour after interviewing Yuan Weijing, the wife of blind activist Chen Guangcheng. The reporters were stopped by about seven police officers as they left the home of activist Hu Jia, where the interview had taken place. The police recorded their passport and press card details before allowing them to depart. The delay prevented the reporters from accompanying Yuan to the airport. The police said they were responding to a complaint by Hu Jia's neighbor that a number of foreigners were conducting interviews in the compound.

AUG. 6, 2007: POLICE DETAIN A DOZEN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS FOLLOWING NEWS ON MEDIA FREEDOM IN CHINA ONE YEAR AHEAD OF THE OLYMPICS

Police prevented around a dozen foreign reporters from leaving the site of a news conference on media freedom in China and a subsequent event staged by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Some reporters were detained for about 90 minutes. One reporter was shoved around. One call to the Foreign Ministry went unanswered. Another call was answered, but the police officer refused to speak to ministry officials. Police asked reporters why they attended, who informed them of the event, and what was the purpose of handcuffs in a poster used by the organizers.

III HARASSMENT AND BUREAUCRATIC OBSTRUCTION

OCT. 17, 2007: POLICE OBSTRUCT PHOTOGRAPHER, INSIST ON SEEING TEMPORARY RESIDENCE REGISTRATION DOCUMENT

Authorities blocked AP photographer Greg Baker from photographing Beijing Christian activist Hua Huiqi because he was not carrying his temporary residence registration form. Baker was seeking to enter a courtyard home to photograph Hua Huiqi, who had been beaten. When Baker argued he had all the legally required documentation with him, and that he could not have gotten his visa without having first registered his residence with police, he was told he "had to prove" he had registered.

Reporters from the South China Morning Post and the New York Times were turned away from Yixing court where they planned to cover the trial of environmental activist Wu Lihong. Outside the courthouse, three people believed to be plainclothes police officers photographed and verbally harassed the reporters. One of the three searched one of the journalists' bags when the journalist stepped away, in apparent violation of Constitutional protection of privacy.

OCT. 11, 2007: POLICE TRACK JOURNALISTS FROM FENGTAI TO TIANANMEN, BAR FILMING IN PUBLIC AREAS

Finnish Broadcasting Co. correspondent Katri Makkonen and a colleague were blocked by authorities from filming petitioners in Fengtai, and then barred from filming in Tiananmen Square. Authorities originally said the reporters were allowed to film the Fengtai petitioner area as long as they avoided the hutong next to the courthouse. But other police continued to block their camera. After the journalists left, police phoned their taxi driver to find out where they were headed next. When they arrived in Tiananmen Square the journalists were approached by police who said they'd been instructed to look for the "Finnish journalists". The journalists were told they are not allowed to film in Tiananmen Square, and were warned they could be threatened or harmed in the square. At both locations authorities repeatedly asked for their passports and press cards, and spent about 15 minutes taking down details. "It was obvious that the police knew that they couldn't detain us but still tried in every way to stop us from working. It was pretty amazing that they tracked down the cab driver and then even alerted the police on Tiananmen," said Makkonen. The previous day her cameraman had been turned away from Fengtai because he was allegedly blocking traffic.

SEPT. 28, 2007: INTERFERENCE IN TIANANMEN SQUARE

Marije Vlaskamp of RTL Dutch Television News was told by police the rule that allows filming in Tiananmen Square without prior permission was 'changed until further notice.' She was allowed to do her standup under the Mao portrait after she started to phone the State Council Information Office to get an explanation of the new rules. A plainclothes officer harassed her staff with personal questions about their address, their salary, and employment history.

OCT. 12, 2007: BUREAUCRATIC HARASSMENT IN HOSPITAL EMERGENCY WARD

Immigration police pulled two reporters away from the emergency ward at Tiantan hospital where they were reporting on the beating of Christian activist Hua Huiqi. At the time, Hua Huiqi was unconscious; it seemed he was being denied treatment. The police were polite, but spent half an hour examining passports and press cards, and lecturing the reporters on a rule about carrying their police residence registration. "They knew they couldn't stop us from doing what we were doing. It seemed designed to take the journalist away from the story," said South China Morning Post reporter Didi Kirsten Tatlow.