The IFJ says that a web site run by a group calling itself the World Chinese Journalists Association will not provide an authentic international press cards and is illegally trading on the IFJ name.

"This site is little more than a money-making scam. Journalists should have nothing to do with it," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "Genuine journalists can obtain IFJ International Press Cards through their national journalist organisations."

The IFJ has written to the All China Journalists' Association, as official organisation representing media in China, to help discover who is behind the site and to ask them to make it clear to their organisations that the IFJ does not support this group and does not endorse the card being promoted.

The IFJ International Press Card, which has been a recognised international credential for travelling journalists for more than 50 years, can be obtained through the unions and associations of journalists listed on the IFJ's web site.

Earlier this year, the IFJ issued a similar warning over web-sites in Europe that sell international press cards over the internet, but which do not represent journalists and charge heavily for their cards.

"People should not be fooled by these sharp traders and make sure that any accreditation they receive comes through legitimate journalistic organisations," said White.

Click here for further information about the IFJ press card.

Click here for a full list of IFJ members.

The internet TV channel, launched by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), will broadcast live coverage of at least twelve sports each day during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Additionally, Paralympic Ambassador, Chris Waddell will be hosting a daily news show summing up the events of the day.

The channel will be broadcasted on the IPC’s internet TV channel ParalympicSport.TV, where you can find live signal from sports like Athletics, Cycling (Track), Table Tennis, Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Fencing.

This internet TV channel enables everybody all over the world to keep updated on the Paralympics, a fact that Sir Philip Craven, IPC President is pleased about. "The IPC is very happy about this great commitment for the worldwide distribution of the Games. It is superb news for those who do not have the opportunity to watch Paralympics on TV."

The IPC and its partners has worked out an agreement with the providers of the live stream, that makes it possible for the IPC to broadcast free of charge.

The IPC hopes that this channel will make it easier for the Paralympic Games to spread its news as the Paralympics is an event that sometimes suffers from a lack of international media coverage.

Places to go for Paralympic news, comments and live footage:

• The most extensive coverage can be found on www.paralympicsport.tv.
• The ParalympicSport.TV has also established a YouTube channel, where athletes and spectators can upload their own material in addition to the material provided by ParalympicSport.tv.
• Radio4Handicaps has a radio channel that provides a 24 hour coverage of the Games in both English, German and Chinese.

Related links:

• IPC

Video bloggers Brian Conley and Jeff Rae were detained early Tuesday in Beijing, according to a statement by Students for a Free Tibet. Later that day, Conley's wife Eowyn Rieke in Philadelphia received a text message from her husband, saying, "In jail, all fine," Rieke told CPJ. She has not had further contact since that message.

The two were in Beijing to document pro-Tibet protests, although the circumstances of their arrests were not clear. Rieke told CPJ she understood that at the time of the arrests, they were socializing with people who had been planning a protest action.

At a separate pro-Tibet protest in Beijing on Thursday, plainclothes security officers roughed up and questioned two Associated Press photographers, confiscating memory cards from their cameras, AP reported.

"The heavy-handed treatment by police of anyone holding a camera to gather news during the Olympics is of great concern," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. "Authorities in China must accept that the world wants to see documentation of incidents they would rather play down. Detentions and harassment are not the answer."

Footage and images of Beijing, including protest events, shot by Conley and Rae have been published on pro-Tibetan Web sites and circulated to media organizations during the Olympics, according to Han Shan, the Olympics Campaign Coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet. Conley is also publisher of the Web site Aliveinbaghdad, which posts weekly video reports by Iraqi journalists.

Conley and Rae were detained along with four other people, according to Students for a Free Tibet. The legal status of the six people was unclear today. Bejing police issued a statement saying, "Thomas and five other foreigners" were given a 10-day administrative detention on August 19 for disturbing public order, according to Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press. Police did not elaborate on the identities of the foreigners, AFP and AP said. One of the detainees is named Tom Grant, Students for a Free Tibet said. CPJ could not independently confirm a connection between the reported statement and the group.

CPJ also spoke by telephone today with video blogger Noel Hidalgo in New York, who said police in Beijing arrested and deported him after trying to smash his camera as he was documenting a pro-Tibet protest there on August 10. Footage he shot of an earlier protest is available on the CPJ Blog.

A journalist, who did not wish to be named, told the IFJ that police in Guangxi stopped the crew from filming the scene of the explosion, which claimed 16 lives and which led to the evacuation of thousands of people.

"They said that we have to apply to the propaganda department of Guangxi in order to enter the restricted area, despite showing our press cards issued by the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee," the journalist told the IFJ.

The Reporting Regulations for journalists from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other countries remain in force until October 17, and notionally allow journalists to report freely anywhere in China. The television crew are based in mainland China but are employed by a Hong Kong station.

"China has promised that journalists from Hong Kong and from around the world will be able to report freely," said IFJ Asia-Pacific. "The Government must ensure that all officials, including local police, are aware of China's promises and obligations."

The IFJ is also alarmed that journalists from local Chinese media lacked adequate safety precautions when covering the accident. Many did not have face masks or basic equipment to protect themselves against toxic fumes.

"China's authorities and media owners must treat local journalists and those from Hong Kong and elsewhere with respect and allow them to work freely and safely," said IFJ Asia-Pacific.

Since the Main Press Centre for the Olympic Games officially opened on July 25, the IFJ has received a steady flow of cases of restrictions or attacks on freedom to report, including cases of physical interference with media workers.

Amongst the most serious cases were:

• An altercation in Beijing outside the ticketing office on 25 July during which a number of Hong Kong and foreign journalists were manhandled by Beijing police;
• The beating and detention of journalists reporting on the aftermath of bomb attacks in Kashgar, Xinjiang. Two Japanese journalists were beaten by police on the evening of August 4 , while two journalists from Hong Kong's ATV were detained and their footage confiscated.
• Plainclothes officers caught by the IFJ "snooping" on journalists in Beijing on August 7 and 9. A number of plainclothes officers were found to take photos and notes of journalists and interviewees.
• Beijing police roughed up and detained a British journalist from Independent Television News on August 13 while he was trying to report on a Free Tibet protest at the Chinese Ethnic Minorities Culture Park. He later was pushed into a police van and interrogated.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) has announced more than 30 confirmed cases of "reporting interference" since July 25, bringing the total number of incidents between January 1 and August 20 to 152.

The clampdown on free reporting was also apparent during unrest in Tibet in March 2008, and during the aftermath of Sichuan earthquake in May where authorities initially allowed reporters access to earthquake zones but quickly sought to reassert control after critical stories began to emerge.

While the Reporting Regulations allow journalists to interview any Chinese citizen with their consent, police and other officials have consistently barred interviews.

Unfettered access to the internet in the Press Centre itself has also proved illusory. The IFJ was told that though many websites had been "unblocked" by the end of the Games after an international outcry, many pages within those sites remained inaccessible.

During the Games, the Central Propaganda Department has also escalated restrictions on local media, including an order not to report any cases of discontented citizens protesting in Beijing or cases related to food safety. Some local websites were ordered to shut down with no explanation, such as www.315wqchina.com, a human rights violations monitoring website which was reportedly closed on August 20.

"While the situation may in some respects have improved marginally over previous years, China has fallen far short of its promises," said IFJ Asia-Pacific.

"Even with the Reporting Regulations in place for the Games, there have been significant and systematic restrictions on media freedom," said IFJ Asia-Pacific.

"At an absolute minimum China must extend the existing provisions and use this as the starting point for future reform."

The IFJ notes recent comments by Liu Binjie, Director of China's General Administration of Press and Publications, that press freedom was not a "short term policy" and would continue to improve after the Games and after October 17, 2008, when the existing Reporting Regulations expire.

The IFJ calls on China to extend the provisions indefinitely, and to expand their reach to local media.

"China's constitution guarantees freedom of expression, and until all media have the freedom to report without government interference, this guarantee will remain hollow," said IFJ Asia-Pacific.

The FCCC notes some areas of progress by the Chinese government, including access to officials, lifting of restrictions on some websites, and instructions to police not to interfere in the work of journalists.

But much needs to be done, says the FCCC. The reporting rules enacted for the Olympics are only temporary and it remains uncertain what will happen when the regulations expire in October this year. Meanwhile, many areas of China, especially Tibet, remain blocked to journalists and sources are still harassed or imprisoned for talking to foreign journalists. Reporters too re often followed or stopped when they visit sensitive areas.

"The Chinese government failed to make the Olympic podium on media freedom," says Jonathan Watts, FCCC president. "But there is a basis to build on. Violence against journalists must end immediately and the authorities should take more steps towards transparency and openness. The legacy of the Games can still be a positive one."

Examples of reporting interference:

1) BEIJING: OFFICERS ROUGH UP AP PHOTOGRAPHERS, SEIZE MEMORY CARDS
Aug. 20, 2008 - Two Associated Press photographers attempting to cover an Olympics-timed protest were roughed up by plainclothes security officers, forced into cars and taken to a nearby building where they were questioned before being released, the news service reported.

Memory cards from their cameras were confiscated. The two were separately trying to find a planned protest by free Tibet supporters late Wednesday southwest of the Bird's Nest stadium. They arrived separately and each was set upon by people in civilian dress, apparently plainclothes state security agents or police. One was knocked to the ground, had his face pressed in the dirt, arm twisted behind his back and his cameras ripped from him. The other was tackled from behind, pushed to the ground, had his camera grabbed, all while being filmed.

They were forced into different unmarked cars, taken separately to an office a few blocks away, and held separately. Their photo cards were taken away. One was asked his views on Tibet. He was held for about 30-40 minutes before he was released. The other photographer was held for a similar length of time and then released.

2) BEIJING: POLICE BLOCK UK PHOTOGRAPHER, DAMAGE EQUIPMENT
August 13, 2008 - Police damaged the camera of Guardian photographer Dan Chung as they tried to prevent him taking pictures of the aftermath of a pro-Tibet protest at the Ethnic Minorities Culture Park near the Olympic Green. Police told Chung that neither his visible IOC accreditation nor the Olympic stickers on the equipment were of any of their concerns.

A man in yellow-and-red clothing first blocked Chung's lens while he tried to photograph the bicycles that the protesters had tried to use as a barricade. After police set up a cordon around the demonstration, Chung followed instructions and stayed behind the line. Chinese in civilian clothes photographed all journalists covering the demonstration None of the photographers present were detained, but they were prevented from doing their work.

He said the police broke the built-in flash on his Nikon camera as they jostled him. "This was bad policing," said Chung. "I mean, we stayed behind their line and still we were not allowed to do our work."

3) BEIJING: GERMAN CAMERAMAN KICKED BY 'OLYMPIC VOLUNTEERS'
Aug. 4, 2008 - When a crew for Germany's ARD television went to visit Zeng Jinyan, the wife of rights jailed human-rights activist Hu Jia, they were initially told by guards to wait at the entrance to the compound. Shortly after, four or five people wearing Olympic volunteer outfits, along with local residents, physically attacked the television crew. They pushed and kicked the cameraman, who suffered a bruise. The police arrived and the crew then left, unable to do their work.

4) KASHGAR, XINJIANG: POLICE DEMAND AFP PHOTOGRAPHER DELETE PHOTOS
August 4, 2008 - Police insisted on seeing and deleting photographs taken by an Agence France Presse photographer who was covering the killing of paramilitary police in Kashgar. The photographer, who was with two colleagues in a hotel room overlooking the site of the attack, was taking pictures from the window. When police saw this, they went with the hotel manager and a security guard to the room. They demanded to see the pictures and that they be erased.

*When groups of reporters from different media organizations travel together, and experience the same violation, the FCCC count one violation per news organization.

**Reporting interference" includes violence, destruction of journalistic materials, detention, harassment of sources and staff, interception of communications, denial of access to public areas, being questioned in an intimidating manner by authorities, being reprimanded officially, being followed, and being subjected to other obstacles not in keeping with international practices.

"The IOC does disapprove of any attempts to hinder a journalist who is going about doing his job seemingly within the rules and regulations," said Davies at Thursday's IOC/BOCOG press conference.

"This, we hope, has been addressed. We don't want to see this happening again."

Ray's arrest was not an isolated incident, with the FCCC confirming four other incidents between 7 to 12 August.

The incident prompted a journalist from UK TV station Channel 4 to ask at Davies a joint IOC/BOCOG press conference whether the IOC is embarrassed by the performance of the Chinese government with regard to human rights and press freedom pledges made before the Games. However, Davies refrained to answer, despite the question being repeated four times.

The incident occurred when Ray was filming a protest by Tibetan independence activists in Tiananmen Square.

Ray is believed to have been mistaken for one of the protestor he and his film crew were filming.

In news footage released by ITV News, Ray is shown being forced into a police van despite presenting evidence to police officers to affirm his accreditation as a journalist.

ITV video of the incident released on Youtube

Transcript from press conference

BBC footage of the arrest

The document was circulated to Chinese news outlets, providing instructions on what to do in the event political protests, how to refer to athletes of different ethnicities, and even discussion related to food safety issues.

Click here to visit the South China Morning Post website to read more or read the twenty-one point plan below:

1. The telecast of sports events will be live [but] in case of emergencies, no print is allowed to report on it.

2. From August 1, most of the previously accessible overseas websites will be unblocked. No coverage is allowed on this development. There's also no need to use stories published overseas on this matter and [website] operators should not provide any superlinks on their pages.

3. Be careful with religious and ethnic subjects.

4. Don't make fuss about foreign leaders at the opening ceremony, especially in relation to seat arrangements or their private lives.

5. We have to put special emphasis on ethnic equality. Any perceived racist terms as "black athlete" or "white athlete" is not allowed. During the official telecast, we can refer to Taiwan as "Chinese Taipei". In ordinary times, refer to Taiwanese athletes as "those from the precious island Taiwan....." In case of any pro Taiwan-independence related incident inside the venue, you shall follow restrictions listed in item 1.

6. For those ethnic Chinese coaches and athletes who come back to Beijing to compete on behalf of other countries, don't play up their "patriotism" since that could backfire with their adopted countries.

7. As for the Pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkistan movements, no coverage is allowed. There's also no need to make fuss about our anti-terrorism efforts.

8. All food saftey issues, such as cancer-causing mineral water, is off-limits.

9. In regard to the three protest parks, no interviews and coverage is allowed.

10. No fuss about the rehearsals on August 2,5. No negative comments about the opening ceremony.

11.No mention of the Lai Changxing case.

12.No mention of those who illegally enter China.

13.On international matters, follow the official line. For instance, follow the official propaganda line on the North Korean nuclear issue; be objective when it comes to the Middle East issue and play it down as much as possible; no fuss about the Darfur question; No fuss about UN reform; be careful with Cuba. If any emergency occurs, please report to the foreign ministry.

14. If anything related to territorial dispute happens, make no fuss about it. Play down the Myanmar issue; play down the Takeshima island dispute.

15. Regarding diplomatic ties between China and certain nations, don't do interviews on your own and don't use online stories. Instead, adopt Xinhua stories only. Particularly on the Doha round negotiation, US elections, China-Iran co-operation, China-Aussie co-operation, China-Zimbabwe co-operation, China-Paraguay co-operation.

16.Be very careful with TV ratings, only use domestic body's figures. Play it down when  rating goes down.

17. In case of an emergency involving foreign tourists, please follow the official line. If there's no official line, stay away from it.

18. Re possible subway accidents in the capital, please follow the official line.

19.Be positive on security measures.

20. Be very careful with stock market coverage during the Games.

21.Properly handle coverage of the Chinese sports delegation:

A.don't criticise the selection process

B.don't overhype gold medals; don't issue predictions on gold medal numbers; don't make fuss about  cash rewards for athletes.

C.don't make a fuss about isolated misconducts by athletes.

D.enforce the publicity of our anti-doping measures.

E. put emphasis on  government efforts to secure the retirement life of atheletes.

F. keep a cool head on the Chinese performance. Be prepared for possible fluctations in the medal race.

G. refrain from publishing opinion pieces at odds with the official propangada line of the Chinese delegation.

 

"While the Chinese government has promised that foreign journalists can work freely during the Beijing Games, they have repeatedly set up obstacles for media workers and in some cases security officers have acted violently to stop reporters from doing their work," said IFJ Deputy General Secretary Paco Audije. "The government must live up to its promise and ensure that these attacks stop immediately."

Earlier today, John Ray, a British journalist working for Independent Television News (ITN) was roughed up by security officers after he and two colleagues filmed protestors who brought a banner that said "Free Tibet" inside the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park, which is close to the Bird Nest in Beijing.

As Ray filmed the protestors, security officers physically restrained him and dragged him into a nearby restaurant, despite the fact that he and Chinese colleagues clearly identified themselves as members of the press.

Inside the restaurant, Ray was forced onto a sofa and when he tried to get away he was knocked down by an officer. He was interrogated for about half an hour and then released.

Last week two Japanese journalists were beaten by police while trying to report on the aftermath of another bomb attack in north-west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that killed 16 police officers. Other journalists reported that police confiscated or forced journalists to delete film footage and photographs. A few days later, journalists were also detained after trying to cover the aftermath of another set of bombing attacks in the region.

The IFJ said these practices are a breach of the letter and spirit of China's reporting regulations issued in 2007 that allow journalists from all countries to report freely including taking photos freely without any interference.

The incidents occured in Xinjiang, Hebei and Beijing. Since January 2007, Chinese authorities have promised to allow free and open reporting for foreign jorunalists, though despite that, numerous reports of official interference in the work of journalists has occured.

The five incidents documented between 7 - 12 August by the FCCC were as follows.

1. XINJIANG PROVINCE: POLICE DETAIN JOURNALISTS, DELETE PHOTOS
August 8-10, 2008 -- An Associated Press writer and photographer were questioned by police, searched and detained at various locations over three days while covering the aftermath of bombings in Xinjiang province. AP journalist William Foreman and a photographer arrived in
Yining, Xinjiang, near the Kazakhstan border, Friday evening and Foreman went to watch the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on television outside with several workers from a local TV station. A manager arrived about 20 minutes into the ceremony and apparently called the police, who showed up a few minutes later and took Foreman to the police station.
Photographer Ng Han Guan was picked up shortly after by a different group of police. Over the next 45 minutes, police did not allow Foreman to use his cell phone, videotaped the journalists and deleted images from the photographer's camera, then released the pair.

On Saturday, the two journalists were preparing to board a plane to Urumqi when security officials at the check-in counter took them to a separate room and searched their bags, looked through images on their cameras and turned on Foreman's laptop - apparently to look for photos. They were allowed to board their plane with few minutes to spare.

Mid-morning on Sunday, the AP team arrived in Kuqa, site of recent bombings, and were apprehended by police shortly after they began reporting in the town. Police told the pair the area was unsafe and they would have to go to the Kuqa Hotel, which Foreman said looked like a military command center. The journalists checked into the hotel and around 3 PM were allowed to leave and go about their reporting. Foreman reported no further problems in Kuqa after Monday.

2. BEIJING: POLICE OBSTRUCT FILMING OF TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTEST
August 7, 2008 -- Plainclothes police and unidentified volunteers physically blocked foreign camera crews from filming and reporting on a demonstration and press conference by American Christians in Tiananmen Square. John Ray, China correspondent for Britain's ITV, said as soon as reporters appeared at the protest by three Americans, plainclothes police -- at least one flashing a badge -- placed their bodies directly in front of cameras and journalists trying to record the event.

Ray said the ITV cameraman was physically pushed several times by police but not hurt; Ray did see another cameraman pushed to the ground during the commotion. While the plainclothes officers used their bodies, several middle-aged people then opened umbrellas to
block camera views; officers in turn filmed the journalists at the scene."They stood right in front of us and swore at us," said Ray. It was "total, absolute obstruction; utterly blatant."

3. KUQA, XINJIANG PROVINCE: POLICE DETAIN VISITING U.K. PHOTOJOURNALIST
August 11, 2008 - A visiting British photojournalist attempting to cover the aftermath of bombings in Xinjiang was detained for 7.5 hours by police, who said his travel documents were insufficient. Jack Hill, a British photographer with The Times, renewed his J-2 visiting journalist visa last week in Beijing and was assured by Public Security Bureau officials that,
though they needed to keep his passport for processing, he could travel and work throughout China with the receipt they provided him. A three-person team from The Times arrived Sunday evening at a shopping area and bomb-blast site in central Kuqa when they were approached by local police demanding to see their identification. Richard Lloyd Parry, the writer traveling with Hill, was left alone when he produced his Olympics press accreditation.
Hill, however, was told he needed to go the police station the next morning and pay a fine because the receipt for his passport and visa was not sufficient.

The next day, Hill arrived at the police station to pay the fine, but was kept there for 7.5 hours. Police denied his requests to be allowed to wait in his hotel for the problem to be resolved, and was told he'd be formally arrested if he left the police station. Hill was
released only after Lloyd Parry asked a government official in a news conference why the photographer was being detained. The official's staff telephoned the police, who then released Hill without requiring him to pay any fine or sign any statement.

4. SANHE TOWN, HEBEI PROVINCE: PLAINCLOTHES OFFICIALS INTIMIDATE SOURCES,
BLOCK INTERVIEWS
August 12, 2008: Plainclothes officials intimidated sources while two Scandinavian journalists attempted to interview peach farmers in Hebei Province about how Olympics transport regulations are hurting their livelihood.

Beijing-based Sami Sillanpaa of Helsingin Sanomat and Philip Lote, a visiting colleague from Norwegian television NRK, were interviewing farmers when three carloads of people arrived and refused to identify themselves. Sillanpaa, who said the men were in constant telephone contact with someone to relay information about the journalists, said the officials just happened to show up and wanted to watch what was going on. "They ruined our interview," said Sillanpaa. "After they arrived (the farmers) were not so willing to talk anymore."

The pair then left the area and were followed by the unidentified officials who had disrupted their interview. The officials left off when the journalists crossed the provincial border en route to Beijing.

5. PINGFANG VILLAGE, BEIJING: POLICE DEMAND ID, FOLLOW REPORTERS
August 12, 2008 -- Two police officers in an unmarked car followed and briefly questioned two Scandinavian journalists working together on a story in an eastern suburb of Beijing. Police arrived in Pingfang village and demanded to see the identification of Beijing-based Sami
Sillanpaa of Helsingen Sanomat and Philip Lote, a visiting correspondent from Norwegian television. The reporting pair was allowed to continue their work, but sources were reluctant to talk under the gaze of nearby police, Sillanpaa reported.

If you come across any instances of reporting interference, please contact Play the Game for Open Journalism via our helpline on +32 475 76 13 92. Click here for more information.

In the latest incidents, three Japanese journalists told the IFJ that they were detained on Sunday by police officers in Kuqa, in north-west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, when they tried to enter the area on Sunday.

"They said it was for our own safety," one of the detained journalists said, "but I believe journalists should decide [how to protect] their own safety rather than the authorities."

He said that while he was detained police deleted photographs his colleague had taken without giving any explanation.

"Police and authorities in Xinjiang have repeatedly interfered in journalists' work to try to prevent them from effectively covering the situation there," said IFJ Deputy General Secretary Paco Audije. "At times, authorities use the excuse of protecting journalists' safety to ban them from the area. However, this seems to be a pretext used to stifle press freedom and curb coverage of the bombing."

The three detained journalists, who worked for Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun and news wire service JiJi Press, were questioned for hours and then released. They were allowed to return to Xinjiang and are still working there, they told the IFJ.

A British photographer was also detained by police in the region on Sunday after the bombing.

A journalist from Hong Kong told the IFJ that on Monday he was barred from filming at the Kuqa People?s Hospital by staff that said he needed permission from Xinjiang's authorities. However when he tried to get permission from regional officials, they told him it was unnecessary.

Last week two Japanese journalists were beaten by police while trying to report on the aftermath of another bomb attack in the region that killed 16 police officers. Other journalists reported that police confiscated or forced journalists to delete film footage and photographs.

The IFJ said these practices are a breach of the letter and spirit of China's reporting regulations issued in 2007 that allow journalists from all countries to report freely including taking photos freely without any interference.

The IFJ call comes after a number of reports from eye-witnesses who have seen shadowed by people in plainclothes. A foreign journalist told the IFJ that two strangers with no press accreditations took photos of him and his notes on August 7 when he was interviewing an athlete from France at Beijing airport. When he challenged them they refused to talk. The journalist says in the exchange his press accreditation and nationality were checked and photographs were taken on the notes he had made.

A similar report was made when a number of foreign and Hong Kong journalists were interviewing a discontented land owner in Tiananmen Square. More than five people without any press accreditation took photos and film of all journalists and the interviewee. The journalists are convinced they were working for security services.

"This is unacceptable interference in the work of journalists," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "Once again we call on the Chinese authorities to make good on their promise that journalists can work without intimidation."

On August 9, a number of people took photos of more than a dozens of journalists and their notes outside the Drum Tower when they were reporting an American tourist was killed by a Chinese man. An IFJ representative on the spot requested an explanation from a woman who took photos of journalists and their notes. She refused to answer but when pressed said it was "out of curiosity" .

"Protection of journalistic sources is a cornerstones of press freedom," said White. "This sort of activity shows complete disregard for that principle by the Chinese authorities."

Read this press statement from the FCCC about the guide:

As the 2008 Beijing Games open, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China urges China to make good on its Olympic promise of an open reporting environment, to put a stop to violence against foreign reporters, and to better enforce its own laws and regulations.

The FCCC welcomes President Hu Jintao's August 1 statement that China will "welcome foreign journalists and facilitate their reporting in China whether before or after the Beijing Olympic Games." We are also encouraged by a promise from Liu Binjie, minister of the General Administration of Press and Publication that "China's open door to the foreign media will not close after the Games."

But much more needs to be done to put these words into action. In the past two weeks the FCCC has been informed of violence by law enforcement personnel against Japanese, European and Hong Kong journalists.
Several reporters suffered injuries or damage to their equipment. On the eve of the Olympics, China still blocks many internet sites, and foreign correspondents face interference when they seek to report on foreign and domestic critics of the Chinese government. Chinese sources report being intimidated or warned not to speak out. Promised reporting freedoms all too often wither away as soon as a subject becomes sensitive, as was apparent after the Tibetan unrest and the Sichuan earthquake. The authorities need to be more consistent.

"Despite progress in some areas, the FCCC is disappointed that the Chinese government has neither fully lived up to its Olympic promise of a free media environment nor made a clear-cut and enduring commitment to further openings after the Games," said FCCC president Jonathan Watts. "We strongly urge China to match its growing global influence with greater accountability." The easing of Internet restrictions and travel regulations should be made permanent.

To improve the professional environment for journalists, the FCCC has prepared a pocket legal guide to inform foreign correspondents of their rights when faced with some of the most common violations. Copies of a laminated card are available through the FCCC. The information is also available on the FCCC's website - www.fccchina.org.

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC) is a Beijing-based professional organization of some 400 members from 30 countries.

Download the guide here

Yesterdays helpings of media statistics present research from Nielsen Mobile that shows that a substantial number of mobile users across the globe will be following the Olympics on their cell phones, and that gymnastics and track and field will be the most popular events on mobile video for users in the US and the UK.

The blog also contains information and statistics on topics such as advertising spending at past Olympics, the growth in advertising rates around the Olympics, how many watch previous Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and the role of Chinese athletes in endorsing Olympic sponsors.

Visit the 2008 Olympics section at NielsenWire
blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/category/sports/2008-olympics/

Featured in this month's bulletin are reports on police harassment of journalists, detention of Chinese dissidents, and an interview with Foreign Correspondent's Club of China president, Jonathan Watts.

1. Journalists Beaten and Barred from Reporting in Xinjiang
2. Hong Kong Journalists Bear Brunt of Restrictions in Beijing
3. Games Open Amidst Restrictions on Media
4. Foreign Correspondents' Club of China Logs Increase in Attacks
5. New Tang Dynasty TV Signal to China Still Down
6. More Dissident Writers Jailed
7. Taiwan Security Officials Monitor Chinese Journalists
8. Safety Concerns for Mainland Journalists
9. Retired Soldier Charged for Criticising Government via Online Messaging
10. Press Regulation Head Says More Freedom to Come in China
    Special supplement: Interview with Foreign Correspondents' Club of China's
    Jonathan Watts

Click here to read more

Two Japanese journalists were beaten by police while trying to report on the aftermath of an attack on Monday which killed at least 16 police officers. The journalists, Masami Kawakita, 38, of Chunichi Shumbun and Shinji Katsuta, 37, of Nippon Television Network, suffered injuries after being detained by police and barred from reporting on the attack.

Two journalists from Hong Kong's ATV told the IFJ they were also detained and their footage was confiscated by police.

After the incident, police also reportedly forced an Agence France Presse photographer to delete images taken in the vicinity of the hotel.

A Hong Kong journalist, who requested not to be named, told the IFJ she saw border police demanding that the journalists leave the area.

"I saw a journalist and cameraman of ATV and two Japanese journalists, one was lifted by his arms and legs by the police, they were manhandled by border police into a room," she said.

Kawakita said he was surrounded by police and lifted off the floor then thrown down and kicked in the ribs. He suffered lacerations on his cheeks and elbows.

Another witness told the IFJ "I felt my life was threatened because I didn't know whether the police chasing us had weapons. I utterly do not understand why the police of Xinjiang barred us from reporting."

On the morning of August 5, police reportedly visited the hospital where the journalists were recovering to apologise for the injuries and to offer compensation for medical bills and damage to equipment.

However, China Daily, a government controlled newspaper, reported that Liu Yaohua, head of Xinjiang's public security department, said of the journalists' attempts to report that "the act was not well-justified and they should accept the consequences."

Reporting regulations issued in 2007 allow journalists from all countries including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to report freely and to interview Chinese citizens with consent.

"This brutal interference in reporting is totally contrary to the letter and spirit of China's reporting regulations," said IFJ Asia-Pacific.

"There can be no free reporting under such repressive conditions. We demand that China take immediate steps to prevent violence against and interference with media workers who are simply trying to do their job."

In the run-up to Olympics, Beijing tightened control over media and Internet. Overseas web sites that have keywords on Beijing's blacklist are blocked and cannot be visited from China without any "anti-censorship" tools. The decision to block access to these websites is in contravention to Beijing's earlier promises to grant unrestricted Internet access to foreign reporters during the Games, and will seriously impede reporters' ability to do their work in Beijing. Although web restrictions were relaxed to some degree on Friday, it is unclear how long these conditions will last.

In order to overcome these Internet restrictions and gain free access to the Internet in China, the GIFC recommends that journalists and tourists download the free software packages by its partners. All Internet traffic through the tools is encrypted and can successfully bypass the Internet blockades in repressive nations around the world.

GIFC partner organizations have been developing and maintaining anti-censorship tools of all shapes and flavors since 2000. Some of the tools, such as "UltraSurf," "FreeGate," "Garden," "GPass" and "FirePhoenix," are very popular among web surfers in China who are eager to explore the world behind the Great Firewall. About one million users worldwide are using these GIFC tools on a regular basis.

The software tools can be downloaded at www.internetfreedom.org .

"You can try the tools here first to get acquainted with the interface. Then you can circumvent the censorship and continue to visit any web site when you are in China," said Tao Wang, Director of Operations. He stressed, "We will continue to roll out new releases quickly during the Olympics. So please make sure you always come to our official web sites for latest updates and stay connected."

Reuter's Beijing bureau chief, Ben Lim, claims to have seen a confidential document handed out to police officers, instructing them not to block camera lenses of photographers and television cameramen covering news at a scene or damaging their equipment.

The instructions go further, describing what course of action police officers should take in the event of political protests made by supporters of the Falun Gong movement, Tibetan or Taiwanese independence.

They can only intervene if there is "drastic action that attracts a crowd or affects public order" on the capital's Tiananmen Square or other politically sensitive sites, reports Reuters.

However, still unclear is how police will act towards local journalists, whose situation has received far less attention in the press than their foreign counterparts.

"The Chinese journalists working during the Games are still under the heavy restrictions that came into play last year, during the Communist Party's National Congress in October, when media restrictions were tightened, as they always are during such national events," writes Bob Dietz of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"They were never loosened, and the Central Propaganda Department has continued to write the rules on how individual stories will be covered," he continues. "Yes, Chinese journalists broke free of those restraints several times, notably during the ice storms in the south of the country in January and February, and then again in Sichuan in the aftermath of the May 12 earthquake. But remember, they too were shut out of Tibet and had to rely solely on Xinhua accounts of what was happening."

Read Reuters's report here

Read Bob Dietz's comments here

Play the Game for Open Journalism had raised the question in response to reports in some media that IOC's new blogging rules also apply to journalists and therefore would prevent them from putting up interviews with athletes or Olympic officials on their blogs.

Eline Andersen from the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark is currently in Beijing, and she approached Anthony Edgar directly to find out if the blogging regulations also apply to representatives of accredited media.

"According to Edgar, journalists can blog as much as they want. But they are not allowed to include video or moving pictures from Olympic areas in their blogs due to questions of media rights. The blogging rules have been introduced to allow people other than journalists to keep an electronic diary from the Games," Andersen explains.

The IOC originally introduced the blogging guidelines because athletes were previously banned from working as journalists during the Games and keeping a blog might be construed as journalism. Under the new rules, athletes and other person accredited to the Games can blog provided the contents are confined to their own personal Olympic-related experiences.

View the IOC blogging guidelines here

The so-called one-year-to-go countdown resource carefully charts all the issues raised by NGOs before the Olympic Games and provides IOC officials with stock answers to feed to journalists on everything from freedom of speech and the environment to the relationship between China and Sudan.

Should a journalist for instance ask an IOC official a question about crackdowns on media freedom in the run up to the Olympics, the guidelines advise the interviewee to answer along these lines:

"Based on a historical perspective, more advances are being made than at any time in China's recent past. Journalists may not yet see the full effects of these new changes, but we are confident that with the time the adaptation will be successful."

The guidelines also contain an overview of planned NGO activities drawn up in the IOC's crisis communication department and a draft letter to NGOs that write in to ask the IOC to take action on certain issues.

Read what the IOC has to say on

• Social and political issues
• Chinese and Sudanese relations
• Bilateral relations and torch relay
• Freedom of speech and media
• Religious freedom
• Air quality and health risks
• Environment
• Business issues and ethics
• Ethically-sourced Olympic-branded goods
• Olympic athletes

Click here to read the leaked Beijing Briefing Kit on Südwestrundfunk's homepage.