Amnesty International USA
Press Release
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Blatant media censorship in Beijing adds one more broken promise before Olympics, says Amnesty International

(Washington) -- Amnesty International today called on Chinese authorities and International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials to fulfill media freedom commitments, following a statement Wednesday by an IOC official indicating that the organization had caved in to China's demands on internet censorship.

"The International Olympic Committee and the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Olympic Games should fulfill their commitment to 'full media freedom' and provide immediate uncensored internet access at Olympic media venues. Censorship of the internet at the Games is compromising fundamental human rights and betraying the Olympic values," said Mark Allison, East Asia researcher for Amnesty International.

The organization was reacting to statements Wednesday by Kevin Gosper, IOC press commission chair, saying "I regret that it now appears BOCOG has announced that there will be limitations on website access during Games time (...). I also now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related."

Foreign journalists working from the Olympics press center in Beijing are unable to access the Amnesty International website. A number of other websites are also reportedly blocked.

The IOC has on many occasions highlighted the loosening of restrictions on foreign media in China as an example of the promised improvement in human rights by the Chinese authorities through the hosting of the Olympics. On April 1, Kevin Gosper said that the continued blocking of some websites would "reflect very poorly" on the hosts. On July 17, Jacques Rogge, IOC President, said "there will be no censorship of the internet."

"This blatant media censorship adds one more broken promise that undermines the claim that the Games would help improve human rights in China," said Mark Allison.

On Monday, July 29, Amnesty International published the report "Olympic Countdown: Broken Promises," which evaluates the performance of the Chinese authorities in four areas related to the core values of the Olympics: persecution of human rights activists, detention without trial, censorship and the death penalty. They all relate to the 'core values' of 'human dignity' and 'respect for universal fundamental ethical principles' in the Olympic Charter. The new report shows there has been little progress toward fulfilling the Chinese authorities' promise to improve human rights, and continued deterioration in key areas instead. The report is available on the following webpage.

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