Journalist: Media criticism at Beijing Olympics may not be an option
A Western journalist set to cover the upcoming Beijing Olympics games said recently that he is concerned that communist authorities will crack down and arrest reporters who cover social repression in the country.
Francesco Liello, China correspondent for La Gazetta dello Sport of Italy and the first reporter credentialed for the games told a recent conference he is concerned about coverage.
Liello has already been arrested for working on a story about alleged doping of young Chinese athletes and said he fears overzealous authorities could ruin what otherwise promises to be a spectacular event.
“There is always criticism of the Olympics,” he said. “In Atlanta, it was the influence of Coca-Cola and other commercial interests. In Athens, it was that the venues were not ready. But China is not accepting any criticism. It is behaving like the old system when Mao was there.”
He made the comments at an East-West Center media conference in Bangkok.
Chinese security forces are expected to be pervasive throughout the games, ready to arrest and imprison Chinese dissidents. Foreign correspondents who do not follow Beijing’s strict media controls are likely to be expelled.
Chinese authorities fear international television networks will broadcast protests by such banned groups as the Falun Gong or pro-democracy activists exposing to the world its widespread repression.
