China Eases Limits on Foreign Media for 2008 Olympics

BEIJING – China pledged to temporarily relax its strict limits on foreign media for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, saying foreign journalists will have unprecedented freedom to travel and report within the country beginning next year.

The new regulations, revealed Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, apply to foreign journalists covering the Beijing Olympics and "related matters in China," according to a written copy of the rules, which are set to expire in October 2008, after the games are completed. Liu Jianchao, a ministry spokesman, said foreign media would have freedom to write "not only to the Games itself," but also about political, economic and social issues.

The announcement reflects pressure by the International Olympic Committee and human-rights groups for China to provide an atmosphere of greater freedom and openness for the Olympics, as well as the Chinese government's desire to be seen as an increasingly powerful, but benevolent global power.

Media advocates welcomed the changes but bemoaned that they are temporary.

They also complained that the rules don't ease the even heavier restrictions that affect local Chinese journalists, who are barred from working as reporters for foreign news organizations.

Underscoring the continuing limits on the Chinese government's tolerance for media freedom, Chinese courts separately upheld a three-year jail sentence on a Chinese researcher for the New York Times over allegations of fraud that media-rights advocates have said are unsubstantiated.

Foreign journalists in China are required to obtain approval from local governments before conducting interviews in their territories. While that regulation isn't always enforced, it does enable local authorities to detain and expel reporters investigating issues officials deem sensitive.

Mr. Liu in a news conference cautioned that foreign journalists still must comply with Chinese law. He suggested the new rules will give greater leeway to foreign journalists reporting about sensitive issues such as political demonstrations or mining disasters. "It is crystal clear that as long as the interviewee agrees, you can do your reporting," he said. The new rules also eliminate the current requirement that foreign reporters who want to visit China be invited by Chinese organizations before they can obtain reporting visas, said Mr. Liu.

Human-rights groups protested strongly when China won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics, charging that the country's poor human-rights record and suppression of its media made it unworthy. China has one of the highest number of reporters in prison of any nation – currently 32, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Chinese leaders pledged Beijing's Olympic nod would lead to greater freedoms and development of human rights. Vincent Brossel, spokesman for Reporters Without Borders, said these changes "can help to have a clearer picture of China outside," but the impact of such a temporary change "could be very limited."

The regulations also leave some ambiguities, and they continue to allow authorities discretion in handling the media. It isn't clear, for example, if foreign broadcasters will still have to run their satellite transmissions through state-run television, which occasionally censors reports.