China denies Olympics-related media blacklist
BEIJING (AFP) — Beijing Olympic organisers said Tuesday they were building a database on foreign journalists, but the government denied plans for a Games-related media crackdown.
Li Zhanjun, director of the Beijing Olympic organising committee's (BOCOG) media centre, said a database was being drawn up to help foreign journalists working on the Olympics.
"The major purpose is to provide better service to the media, it is not to monitor the press or threaten anyone," said Li.
"There is no blacklist and there is no monitoring. Our policy concerning the coverage of the Olympic Games is really very open and very transparent."
Also Tuesday, a spokesman for China's media watchdog said there was no truth to reports that it was independently drafting profiles on some 30,000 journalists expected to cover next year's August 8-24 Games.
"No such thing is being considered," said an official in the information office of the General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP).
However, the official said the media watchdog intended to give the public access to information contained in the BOCOG database to allow them to verify the identity of journalists seeking interviews.
GAPP minister Liu Binjie said earlier that the move was intended to prevent bogus reporters extorting money from people by threatening to publish harmful stories about them.
The China Daily newspaper on Monday quoted Liu as saying such reporters, "especially those representing overseas-registered media, harm society and deserve severe punishment."
Li of BOCOG said there was nothing sinister about the Olympic database.
"Some reporters like to cover sport and some others are very interested in politics ... so we have some kind of data and information concerning that," he said.
China promised to introduce media freedom when it was bidding for the right to host the 2008 Olympics and in January this year relaxed rules governing the work of foreign journalists in the runup to the Games.
The International Olympic Committee has praised China for fulfilling its commitment on unfettered media reporting for the Games.
But overseas news organisations still complain that local-level officials routinely obstruct reporting, while restrictions on media freedom for Chinese journalists remain in force.
