…versus your rights in practice

Despite public guarantees and even important temporary improvements to China’s press laws, reporters, news assistants, translators, and sources remain vulnerable to Chinese government surveillance, censorship, harassment, and detention. A vast network exists to monitor domestic and foreign media, and especially to track the internet. You should assume that in most public places you are being filmed on closed-circuit television, that your cell phone can send information about where you are, that your email and other communications may be monitored, and that your Chinese sources and those you quote in stories are at risk. Numerous examples can be found in the following two reports: “You Will Be Harassed and Detained”: Media Freedoms Under Assault in China Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and Falling Short: As the 2008 Olympics Approach, China Falters on Press Freedom, published respectively by Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Journalists should also be vigilant about materials they bring to China. As reported by The New York Times on June 3, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games posted on its website (in Chinese only) a lengthy document consisting of 57 questions and answers relating to the conduct of foreign visitors. This advisory includes a ban on bringing into China “anything detrimental to China’s politics, economy, culture or moral standards, including printed material, film negatives, photos, records, movies, tape recordings, videotapes, optical discs and other items.”

If at any time during your stay in China you feel that your reporting rights are not being respected, we encourage you to immediately inform the International Olympic Committee, your own National Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG). Contact information is available at the end of this guide.