Concerns on press freedom at Games
New rules set for reporters
BEIJING - The beating of two Japanese journalists by police in western China drew an official apology yesterday, but Beijing also set new obstacles for news outlets wanting to report from Tiananmen Square in the latest sign of trouble for reporters covering the Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee, which last week only partially succeeded in getting China to unblock some Internet sites after journalists raised a furor, said it would look into the new rules that require reporters to make appointments to do reports at Tiananmen.
The Japanese government and the Foreign Correspondents Club of China condemned the roughing up of the Japanese newsmen who were covering an attack by alleged Muslim separatists on police in Xinjiang Province.
The separate cases added to the impression that China is not living up to promises that foreign media would have unrestricted access during the Games and has reverted to the tight controls that the communist government keeps over the press in normal times.
In the latest restriction, the Beijing city government said on its website that Chinese and foreign journalists who want to report and film in Tiananmen "are advised to make advanced appointments by phone." It said that will help ensure orderly newsgathering amid what are expected to be large crowds in the square on each day of the Games, which start Friday.
The notice did not specify when the rule takes effect. 