Olympic battle

Should we
expect press freedom as a precondition for hosting the Olympics? Journalists
will gather in Paris
next week for a special conference titled “Beijing
Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom.” Meanwhile, Chinese officials are stepping
up their accusations of “western” media bias. Deborah Jones’ Town Hall
commentary China
and Tibet contains links to several articles on the issue. On April 4, CBC formally
complained to the Chinese ambassador that its website was being blocked in China;
in December Reporters Without Borders accused the IOC of “silent complicity”
with censorship during the games. These reports stand in stark contrast to less
than a year ago, when CBS foreign correspondent Barry Peterson reported on
China’s more relaxed attitude toward foreign journalists, in the posting New Rules of
Journalism in China.