China operates a sophisticated internet censorship regime and it is difficult to know exactly what information Chinese citizens can and can’t access. The lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics has seen some previously inaccessible websites in China become wholly or partly accessible.
We have developed a method to test, monitor and report on changes in levels of censorship, to assist in pressuring the Chinese Government to not revert old ways once the Games are over. If you are travelling to China during 2008 you can register to become a Chinese Internet Censorship Index (CICI) tester. This simply involves testing access to specific websites. The sites chosen for testing are ones that a tourist or journalist might access, such as BBC news and flickr. We believe that participating in these tests presents no risk to visitors to China. – Amnesty International Australia
Nu Wa 怒娃 – the Uncensor China campaign mascot
The IOC are complicit in this censorship!
In spite of a public promise made in September 2006 that foreign media would enjoy uncensored internet access during the Olympics, China has continued to block internet information or websites that are not sanctioned. Sites that have been blocked include the BBC’s Chinese-language news, Germany’s Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Asia, several Hong Kong newspapers, Amnesty International and sites run by the banned sect Falun Gong.
IOC negotiated web censorship
MEMBERS of the International Olympic Committee had negotiated with Chinese authorities to allow censorship of the internet.
IOC Press Commission head Kevan Gosper has apologised for misleading the media by promising journalists that internet access during the Beijing Olympics would be unfettered.
Mr Gosper, an Australian, told the South China Morning Post that the IOC knew some sites would be blocked. …
- (2008-Jul-31) [The Australian]
The agreement between the IOC and the Beijing Olympic organising committee (BOCOG) commited China to provide the same access to reporters as in the previous Games in Athens and Sydney – the IOC has clearly lost control of the host city.
