Escuche esta historia
--:--
3:03
China tightens control of foreign media at Olympics
The Beijing National Stadium was the protagonist of a grand opening ceremony for the 2022 Winter Olympics
Hundreds of athletes from all over the world showed up on the field, accompanied by the official slogan of the Olympic Games “Together for a better future”.
Minutes before the ceremony, Dutch press correspondent Sjoerd den Dass was removed by Chinese police forces while broadcasting live near the stadium. These images, together with the journalist's gestures of impact in the central studios, went around the world.
On his Twitter account, the journalist recounted the events where he indicated how he and his work team were taken to an area indicated by the police, where minutes later they would take him away using force for no apparent reason.
The journalist pointed out that in recent days, he and his colleagues have been hampered and repeatedly attacked by the Chinese police while reporting on the Olympics.
A few minutes after the attack, the journalist was able to resume his live broadcast from another site, indicating that this was not an isolated incident.
These statements refer to the statement made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who, through his spokesman Mark Adams, described the event as unfortunate and an isolated incident.
This affirmation, without agreement with the country where it is denounced that there is no freedom of expression, reaffirms the denunciations that the International Olympic Committee does not support the international journalists who are going to cover the event.
Previously, the tennis player Peng Shuai denounced the sexual harassment of which she was a victim by a director of the Chinese Communist Party.
After being missing for weeks and accompanied by coordinated appearances, Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, declared that he had a meeting with the tennis player and they had agreed to maintain a silent position.
Dozens of international journalists have raised their voices at the impossibility of carrying out their work in Beijing. A journalist alleged that he was violently approached by the police after asking a passerby why he had not attended any Olympic Games events.
Journalists have also reported that the police are threateningly requesting permits that do not exist.
Through the annual statement issued by the Foreign Correspondents Club in China, which is entitled "Locked up or expelled" shows the results of the survey conducted among its members.
The statement also claims that the international press is facing unprecedented obstacles to practice journalism because the Chinese government blocks and discredits the independent press.
In the survey carried out, it was determined that 99% of the respondents claimed that the working condition is not in line with international standards.
Of those who had been obstructed by the Chinese security forces, 62% stated that they had and 25% acknowledged that their sources of information had been harassed, violated and detained.
These accusations are also shared by other organizations such as Reporters Without Borders, which in its latest study on press freedom, would place China in 177th place out of 180 countries, only ahead of North Korea, Turkmenistan and Eritrea.
In 2020, China carried out the largest expulsion of international reporters since 1989.
