Beijing is increasing its controls on foreign journalists as state media stepped up its criticism of recent calls for anti-government rallies yesterday, saying stability was key amid concern unrest sweeping the Middle East could spread to China.
Reporters must apply for government permission to conduct any news gathering within Beijing’s center, the vice director of the city’s Foreign Affairs Office told a news conference yesterday.
No details were given. The official said the verbal order was merely Beijing’s interpretation of a 2008 decree from the State Council.
Photo: AFP
“Beijing’s local policy is a further and more detailed measure,” he said.
China had relaxed reporting rules ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, dropping the requirement for official permission to report.
The State Council extended those relaxed rules after the Games, leading some to hail a new era of openness for foreign reporters, albeit still under strict limitations.
The Chinese media’s criticism of its foreign counterparts came amid renewed online calls for citizens to gather in dozens of cities to participate in “strolling” demonstrations yesterday.
“Firstly we must recognize that some people with ulterior motives at home and abroad are using various means to incite ‘street politics,’” a report on the front page of the Beijing Youth Daily said. “They are using the Internet to create and disseminate false information, incite illegal gatherings in a bid to bring the chaos in the Middle East and North Africa to China, to mess up China.”
A report in the Jiefang Daily, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece in Shanghai, carried a similar comment piece, urging people to “maintain social harmony and stability.”
“People must ... highly cherish and consciously maintain hard-won stability like they take care of their own eyes,” it said.
The anonymous calls for rallies each Sunday have heightened official concern about unrest amid growing resentment at issues such as a yawning wealth gap and corruption.
Reflecting this unease, an official budget report unveiled at the National People’s Congress on Saturday revealed plans to allocate 624.4 billion yuan (US$95.1 billion) for law and order this year.
This represents a 13.8 percent jump from last year, and compares to a lower planned hike of 12.7 percent for national defense spending to 601.1 billion yuan.
Campaigners behind the so-called “Jasmine rallies” again called for people to gather in cities on Sunday, despite no apparent signs of protests last weekend amid heavy security at designated sites in Beijing and Shanghai.
There were no obvious protests yesterday in Beijing or Shanghai.
In Beijing, foreigners were asked for their ID but were allowed onto the Xidan shopping street, and filmed at various intervals by what appeared to be plainclothes security personnel.
In Shanghai, the Peace Cinema — where organizers asked people to gather — was also apparently devoid of protesters. It was closed, with uniformed and plainclothes police crowding its entrance.
At least 17 foreign journalists there were detained by police for not having permission to be there, said one of the reporters involved, who refused to be named. It was unclear how long they would be held.
Activists say more than 100 known dissidents and rights advocates have been rounded up in a huge crackdown since the protest calls began.
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