China and IOC: Blocking Access to Information and Free Speech

Here is what Article 19 have to say about the status of freedom of expression in China as the Olympics loom ahead. The Chinese President in the meantime is appealing to the World not to politicise the Olympics!

PRESS RELEASE - 31 July 2008
As the countdown to the Beijing Olympics reaches a crescendo, reports are mounting that China is reneging on its commitments to free speech and access to information, and that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has failed to ensure that China’s commitments be fully implemented. The last violation to be reported is that of internet censorship: foreign journalists covering the Olympics found they could not access human rights websites and news.

“Through its continued silence, the IOC is condoning the repeated violations by China of fundamental human rights and of the commitments it made to be awarded the 2008 Olympics.” says Dr. Agnès Callamard, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director.

“The actions of the Chinese authorities will surprise very few. But the greatest mockery to the Olympic spirit must be that orchestrated by the IOC itself – the international committee responsible on paper for holding to the highest level the value of fair play and human rights.”

ARTICLE 19 calls on governments and National Olympic Committees to demand that the IOC stands up for the Olympic spirit. In particular, the IOC must protest clearly and transparently to the Chinese authorities for relegating on its promises and abusing freedom of the press and the free flow of information, and request as a matter of urgency that access to all censored websites be immediately established.

Background
Journalists from around the world have arrived in Beijing only to find out that their internet connection is censored by the Chinese government – a violation of the commitments China made in winning the Olympics.

Recent reports, denied by the IOC, have stated that IOC officials acquiesced and agreed to China’s demands for maintaining controls over access to information and the continued blocking of sites from ARTICLE 19, Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, BBC, and many others.

Despite these apparent reversals by China, IOC President Jacques Rogge recently commented that “For the first time, foreign media will be able to report freely and publish their work freely in China. There will be no censorship on the Internet.”

The head of the IOC Press Commission Kevan Gosper is said to have stated that he would be surprised if Rogge did not know that China had no intention of allowing free speech. Chief spokesman for the Beijing Olympic organising committee Sun Weide also conceded that censorship would not stop, “It has been our policy to provide the media with convenient and sufficient access to the Internet” (emphasis added).