An international human rights group says the Chinese government continues to
threaten and block foreign journalists in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.
In a new report, Human Rights Watch says
correspondents in China face severe difficulties in accessing forbidden areas
and covering topics that the Chinese government considers sensitive.
The
report cites examples of how journalists were barred from Tibet and other
Tibetan areas in the wake of unrest there in March. It also documents how
foreign reporters and their sources have faced intimidation or are barred from
covering stories that would embarrass authorities, or tell more about incidents
of social unrest.
The report's release Monday comes a day before China
opens its main press center for the August games.
About 25,000
journalists are expected to cover the Beijing Games.
The group's report
is based on more than 60 interviews with correspondents in China between
December, 2007 and June of this year.
The report says China's foreign
ministry has declined to investigate death threats made against more than 10
correspondents in March and April of this year, following the unrest in
Tibet.
It also says authorities have threatened to revoke media
organizations' accreditation to the Olympics if they report on events that could
embarrass the Chinese government.
Human Rights Watch Asia Advocacy
Director Sophie Richardson says that with such restraints in place, the Chinese
government is limiting the ability of journalists to objectively report on the
complex realities of modern China.
Some information for this report was provided by
Reuters.