The Guardian, 2 November 2021
Chinese authorities have been accused of “continuously stymying” attempts by foreign media to cover the Winter Olympics, by denying or ignoring requests for access and following, harassing and abusing journalists.
In a scathing statement on Tuesday, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China, which acts on behalf of foreign media in China, called for transparency and clarity from China’s national Olympic organising committee.
The club also accused the committee of failing to uphold the International Olympic Committee’s charter requiring it to ensure the fullest media coverage possible for the widest global audience. The Games are due to take place in Beijing in February.
“Our members’ repeated inquiries towards [Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games] on how international media can report on the Games have been met with conflicting answers or neglected completely,” the FCCC said.
“FCCC members report spending weeks trying to obtain contact details for BOCOG media facilitators, only to receive dismissive or inaccurate information from them.”
The FCCC said in the past year foreign journalists had been largely unable to access press conferences or events that were open to domestic media, including the arrival of the Olympic flame. It said many press dates were not publicised, or announced with only a few hours’ notice.
“Foreign journalists who attempt to register for events are denied because BOCOG limits attendance to only their chosen media outlets, claim the event is full, or because they require participants to submit Covid test results within an impossible timeframe of only a few hours.”