China asks foreign media to follow rules ahead of 'protests'

K J M Varma
Beijing, Feb 26 (PTI) Amid calls by overseas dissident
groups to launch Egyptian style protests against the Chinese
government, police in China have cautioned Foreign Journalists
by politely reminding them the rules guiding media coverage in
the country, specially relating to interviews of local people.
An official from the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of the
Chinese police on Saturday called PTI bureau here over phone
to inform that Foreign Correspondents should strictly follow
the guidelines.
No interviews should be carried out without permission.
He was unclear whether permission should be taken from
the authorities or the individuals to be interviewed by the
Correspondents.
Asked whether there was any curb to travel to Wangfujing
where the overseas dissident group website Buxon.Com asked
people to launch strolling protests or close by Tiananmen
Square, which witnessed heavy protests in 1989, the PSB
official said Foreign Correspondents can travel anywhere but
should follow the rules.
According to an advisory put out by the Foreign
Correspondents Club of China (FCCC), a professional
association of Beijing based foreign journalists, a number of
"correspondents received phone calls from public security
officers on Friday warning them to "obey reporting rules" in
China, perhaps indicating there may be tighter-than-usual
reporting conditions this weekend in Beijing".
This followed heavy presence of foreign journalists near
the Macdonald outlet at Wangfujing at Beijing and a square at
Shanghai last Sunday to cover the protests.
Those present included American Ambassador, Jon Huntsman
along with his Chinese and Indian adopted daughters.
American officials here subsequently clarified that
Huntsman, who has recently resigned to contest for Republican
nomination for next US Presidential polls was there
accidentally.
His name was subsequently blocked by Chinese censors on
the internet.
A video posted on some websites also showed Huntsman, a
fluent Mandarin speaker talking to an unidentified person.
The Buxon website stated to be run by overseas Chinese
dissident groups has called for "strolling" protests in many
Chinese cities this year Sunday also.
Some reports said the group had called for protests in
Lhasa, capital of Tibetan province and Urmuqi, the provincial
capital of Muslim Uyghur majority Xinjiang province, both of
which witnessed riots in the recent years.
China appeared to be edgy after its jailed dissident, Liu
Xiaobo was awarded Nobel Peace prize.
Besides blocking his wife from attending the ceremony to
receive the prize, she was kept under house arrest.
Ever since the protest in Tunisia, known as Jasmine
Revolution broke out and gathered steam, spreading to Egypt,
Libya and various Gulf counties, China blocked references to
the news on the Chinese internet blogs, while covering the
same in its English media.
Two days ago Chen Jiping, deputy secretary-general of the
Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the ruling
Communist Party of China (CPC) has accused the "western
forces" of fomenting trouble by calling for Jasmine Revolution
in China opposing the one party rule of the CPC.
"Some hostile Western forces always intentionally stage
various incidents to interfere in our domestic affairs under
the banner of safeguarding rights," Chen said conceding that
it was turning out to be a prominent problem being faced by
China on international stage.