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CROSS-STRAIT TALKS: REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: Reporters grumble over red tape restrictions

Tight regulations on media coverage of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin's (陳雲林) visit to Taiwan this week and the government's chaotic handling of arrangements for media access have irritated both local and foreign reporters.

Interest in the second round of cross-strait negotiations between Chen and Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and Chen's first meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) resulted in more than 1,000 reporters applying to cover Chen's five-day visit.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said it had issued press accreditations to 574 reporters from 138 media outlets. However, reporters who were granted accreditation have expressed annoyance about the complexity of the permit-issuing process and a lack of transparency in selecting media outlets to cover certain events.

The MAC required that reporters go to the Grand Hotel in person and present a valid ID along with two business cards in order to claim press accreditation. One day before Chen arrived it informed reporters that the press accreditation did not guarantee entry to all the planned events.

"We need to limit the number of reporters at certain events because of the capacity at some locations," MAC Deputy Chairman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said on Sunday while explaining related measures to the press at the Grand Hotel.

Almost all major events, including Chen's short statement in the lobby of the hotel upon his arrival on Monday, the Chiang-Chen meeting yesterday morning and Chen's meeting with Ma at the Taipei Guest House tomorrow, required an extra permit, and the MAC and Government Information Office (GIO) failed to adopt a transparent standard when selecting reporters that would be allowed to cover each event.

Reporters selected to cover specific events were informed by MAC or GIO staffers via telephone calls or text messages, and could not pick up the permits until one or two hours before the events.

Only 14 reporters were allowed to cover the dinner banquet Chiang hosted at the Taipei 101 Mall on Monday, for example.

Those who were denied permits did not receive any notification and had no choice but to wait in the pressroom for a live broadcast or press release issued by the MAC, with no room for discussion.

"I did not get a permit for any of the events in the afternoon. I can just watch TV at home if they're not going to allow me to cover the events. Why would I bother coming here," one reporter said.

The reporter, who wished to remain anonymous, challenged the standards the MAC and GIO had used when selecting media outlets for each event, and said the two government bodies failed to provide answers.

One reporter from China, on the other hand, said it was understandable that at certain events the organizers had to limit the number of reporters because some places would not be able to house all of the reporters who had received accreditation.

In addition to the non-transparent issuing of permits, reporters were also irritated by tight security measures, such as the last-minute announcement of Chen's daily schedule.

The MAC has insisted on announcing Chen's schedule for the next day at about 10pm every night on its Web site, and forcing news outlets to coordinate manpower for the next day at the last minute.

Tight security measures foiled not only would-be protesters, but also reporters. Even with the correct press accreditation and permits, reporters still met with police obstruction. One policeman even asked a female reporter wearing high heels to "walk quietly" in the hotel as Chen was about to arrive on Monday.

Liu has apologized for the inconvenience of the permit system and last-minute announcement of Chen's schedule, but said that the planning of Chen's schedule was coordinated by different government agencies every day and was announced as soon as it was finalized.
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