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Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
CPJ concerned online curbs still restrict Olympic journalists
New York, August 19, 2008--Research published today by OpenNet
Initiative says that more than 50 Web sites related to news, human
rights, and pro-Tibet groups were blocked in Beijing and in the
Olympics' Main Press Center as the Games were about to begin. Those
sites included the Web site of the Committee to Protect
Journalists, www.cpj.org.
OpenNet Initiative, an academic partnership that studies Internet
censorship issues, said that a small handful of sites were made
available on August 1, after journalists complained that access at
the press center was being restricted. The brief OpenNet Initiative
report, published on the group's blog, does not specify the current
status of the affected sites, although reports by CPJ and others
indicate that many have remained blocked. CPJ's Web site was still
blocked in the Main Press Center today, according to CPJ research.
OpenNet Initiative, which described its testing as a "snapshot of
Internet filtering in China leading up to week one of the
Olympics," found a range of sites blocked. They included news sites
such as China Digital Times; those affiliated with press freedom
causes, such as Reporters Without Borders and CPJ; and sites
associated with human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch,
Human Rights in China, and the Dui Hua Foundation, which advocates
on behalf of political detainees.
"This report from an authoritative organization adds further
evidence that China has placed unacceptable restrictions on the
Internet in contradiction to its pre-Olympic promises," said CPJ
Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. "We call on the Chinese government
and the International Olympic Committee to continue to address this
issue and allow the completely free Internet access that was
promised for the benefit of journalists and ordinary Chinese
citizens."
Internet censorship in China is highly sophisticated but is
incomplete and subject to change. While CPJ's Web site has been
largely inaccessible during the Games, according to numerous
sources, two journalists said that they were able to access it at
times.
Beijing explicitly promised journalists freedom to report in its
bid to host the Games in 2001 and said when the press centers
opened that no filtering would be applied at Games venues. CPJ
repeated its call for unfettered Web access in light of public
statements by the IOC and local organizers on August 12.
Despite the restrictions, OpenNet Initiative has noted that the
Olympics brought "incrementally increased openness" to Beijingers.
Although it is not clear how long the greater accessibility will
last, city residents can now read an unusual number of
overseas-hosted Chinese language sites such as Wikipedia, the
report says.
© 2008 Committee to Protect Journalists. www.cpj.org E-mail:
info@cpj.org
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