Suppression of media freedoms flies in face of Olympic spirit

Responding to news that with only one year to go before the Beijing Olympics, China is falling short of its pledge to guarantee complete media freedom, Don said:

“China’s failure to ensure that all members of the press are able to travel and report freely is deplorable.

"I urge the Chinese government to extend freedoms to travel and report around China to their own journalists, and to foreign correspondents beyond the 17 October 2023 deadline. Imprisoning journalists and suppressing the right to freedom of speech flies in the face of the Olympic spirit.

"It is estimated that 30 journalists are currently detained in China and more than 157 incidents infringing journalistic freedoms of foreign correspondents have occurred within the last year.

"Now is the time to act. I have written to the IOC asking them to put pressure on Beijing to grant the media complete liberty to report the truth, without fear of intimidation or violence."

ENDS

This article published: 08/08/2023

Published by Bath Liberal Democrats, 31 James St West, Bath, BA1 2BT. Printed and hosted by JPC Infonet, 2 St Georges Works, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8AA. Your Privacy.