Beijing Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom - World Press ...
Beijing Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom - World Press ...
Beijing Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom - World Press ...
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<strong>Beijing</strong> <strong>Olympics</strong> <strong>2008</strong>: <strong>Winning</strong> <strong>Press</strong> <strong>Freedom</strong><br />
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The security technology sectors and systems, in large part provided by foreign<br />
corporations, raise serious concerns. The Olympic organizing committee says it will spend<br />
about $300 million on security. And China's security budget is expected to continue to<br />
grow after <strong>2008</strong> at an annual rate of at least 20 per cent (the country is already the<br />
second largest security equipment market in the world, after the United States). China has<br />
not provided transparency and assurances that sophisticated new security systems will not<br />
be deployed to undermine human rights.<br />
Post-<strong>Olympics</strong> use. Armed with new security technology acquired for the <strong>Olympics</strong>,<br />
China will have an even greater capacity to monitor and restrict individual rights beyond<br />
<strong>2008</strong>. There needs to be international scrutiny and discussion to insure that rights<br />
defenders and vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities and religious practitioners,<br />
will not be exposed to more effective surveillance and repression.<br />
Biometric data collection. As China collects biometric and other information on<br />
foreigners, including the projected 30,000 journalists entering the country for the Games,<br />
what information will this high-tech surveillance collect? How will the biometric information<br />
(including photographs) collected at airports, subways, public spaces, and <strong>Olympics</strong><br />
venues be stored and disseminated? What are the safeguards for insuring privacy as well<br />
as freedom of expression? How will these safeguards fit international standards?<br />
Free and open <strong>Olympics</strong>. “In the preparation for the Games, we will be open in every<br />
aspect to the rest of the country and the whole world. We will draw on the successful<br />
experience of others and follow the international standards and criteria.”<br />
A free and open <strong>Olympics</strong> must include respect for freedom of expression and the right to<br />
access and disseminate information. These rights must be respected and advanced for<br />
foreign media, athletes, tourists and other visitors - and for all Chinese people. A free and<br />
open <strong>Olympics</strong> also requires transparency and accountability.<br />
Access for foreign journalists. Despite new regulations for foreign journalists that went<br />
into effect on Jan. 1, 2007, the rules have been routinely flouted by local officials, and the<br />
forced departures of foreign reporters from Tibet raises concerns about media blackouts in<br />
the face of human rights crises.<br />
A survey by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China found that 95 per cent of its<br />
members think reporting conditions in China are still not up to international standards. If<br />
foreign journalists are vulnerable, what can domestic journalists expect?<br />
Media organizations and non-governmental organizations, including Human Rights in<br />
China, have pressed for extension of the sunset date of the foreign news regulations and<br />
for extension to cover domestic journalists. The final leadup to the Games and the Games<br />
themselves provide an excellent opportunity to test the seriousness and effectiveness of<br />
these guarantees.<br />
Greater transparency and accountability. The development of a number of local and<br />
national open government information (OGI) initiatives should be monitored and tested.