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Beijing 2008: More Journalists Than Athletes Expected This Summer
By Paul Midler | May 7, 2008
Ran across an AP article about tightening visa rules in China, and the article mentioned in passing that China expects to play host to 10,500 international athletes and 18,000 journalists. More journalists than athletes? It’s going to be a very interesting summer in China.
One possibility on the recentl tightening of visa regulations is that, unable to prevent journalists from coming in to cover the Games, Beijing is seeking to clamp down on a surrogate. Such backwards logic is typical of what we see out of Beijing. Thinking goes like this: Leaders don’t want to see the foreign press making their country look bad, but they can’t prevent reporting. So, they intiate a crackdown on trouble makers, in general.
Foreigners who have been affected the most by visa guideline changes have been citizens of 33 countries, including: Afghanistan, Tunisia, Algeria, Bangladesh ,Congo, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, lraq, Mali, Libya, South Africa, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Malaysia, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkey, Mauritania, Saudi Arab, Sierra Leone, Syria.
While many of these countries are the sort where terrorists can be found, they are not the countries most likely to cause trouble for China. At least they are not the sort that has caused China serious public relations difficulties to date. Mia Farrow doesn’t live in Sierra Leone (though perhaps she ought to look into it).
The International Olympics Committee has weighed in on political expression from its athletes and has recently reiterated guidelines: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” I wonder what kind of guidelines will be enforced for spectators. Will visitors be kicked out for putting little Tibet stickers on their faces? Will anyone be allowed to shout “Fuck [country of your choice]!” from the spectator stands?
Beijing will undoubtedly place tight controls in official venues, and much of what the Chinese deem unacceptable will have to be figured out on the fly. Many demonstrators won’t risk finding out; they will simply take their political expressions elsewhere around Beijing. With so many journalists in China looking for an angle, the Chinese government won’t be able to prevent the negative reporting, though they will likely create a fuss trying to do so. Many in the West have expressed regret that the world has allowed China the opportunity to host the games. China may in the end regret it even more.
Keeping undesirables out of China is a futile excersize anyway because those who harbor serious terror ambitions can circumvent the new visa restrictions. All that it takes for most is an invitation letter from a legitmate company in China, and there are already agents who have stepped in to help. But China must be seen as doing something to prevent the chaos that is inevitable.
Some recent reports suggested that the government will be monitoring email transmissions from hotels where journalists stay. Another futile move. Just like the baddies who can figure a way in, journlists will have no problem finding a way to get their stories out. If hotel Internet systems go buggy, there will be the fax, the telephone, or the Blackberry.
Given the Chinese government’s desire to control what is reported, journalists and political demonstrators may simply choose to meet outside of traditional venues. With software applications such as Twitter, groups with a political message to deliver can easily meet with journalists who have nothing better to report on. Impromptu demonstrations of political expression could happen anywhere this summer - on a Beijing street, in a hotel lobby, in front of a foreign consulate. As with so many efforts at control in China, the government is more than likely going to cause the opposite intended effect.
It’s going to be more intersting to watch the journalists than the athletes this summer, that’s for sure.
Topics: China |
May 7th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I can’t believe they are cracking down on citizens of their oil-rich buddies in Africa and the Middle East! As for the number of journalists, I will wager over half the number you report are actually “journalists” from the various Chinese provinces.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Perhaps many of these “journalists” will be F-visa refuseniks who have fallen foul of the visa crackdown and who now find themselves the Olympics correspondent for the Spreadeagle Times, Wisconsin?
On another note, the BBC are proudly trumpeting Good News for Tourists in China: no more visitor fees for tourist spots. Magic. They completely forgot to report the visa crackdown which will give 7-day L visas to tourists thus quashing any ideas of a China-wide side-trip. But what do you expect from the BBC?
May 8th, 2008 at 7:53 am
“No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
Does this include the (L)China ? and “Fxxx T*b**” These are purely sport and non-political.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
@Waz: The BBC is actually 51% owned by Xinhua and everything to date is just part of a greater conspiracy.
The photos of those guys on Everest with the torch are doctored, too!!
May 19th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
What buzz does the Chinese government get out of controlling everyone and everything anyway?