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China relaxes rules for press following up to the 2008 Olympics
ABC[Sunday, December 17, 2006 12:49]
This is a transcript from Correspondents Report. The program is broadcast around Australia on Sundays at 08:00 on ABC Radio National.
Reporter: Stephen McDonell
ELIZABETH JACKSON: The Chinese Government has announced that foreign journalists will be given unprecedented freedom in the run up to the Beijing Olympics.
A new set of rules governing the behaviour of reporters has been released and, on the face of it, they appear to deliver a level of press freedom never seen in China before.
But journalists have been pouring over the new regulations to see what they really mean, among them the ABC's China Correspondent Stephen McDonell.
STEPHEN MCDONELL: From the first of January 2007, journalists based in China will operate under a new set of rules - rules that are officially in place until the end of the Beijing Olympics.
This follows a promise by the Chinese Government that it would deliver unprecedented press freedom for foreign journalists in the run up to the Games.
But reporters, who can hardly believe that this has actually happened, are going through the new regulations again and again to see where the catch is.
The key change is to be found in article 6.
At the moment if a correspondent wants to interview someone outside Beijing, we are first expected to obtain permission from the Foreign Affairs Department.
But the new regulations state: "to interview organisations or individuals in China, foreign journalists need only to obtain their prior consent."
That's to say, that as long as somebody agrees to be interviewed, we can interview whoever we like, without permission from the Government.
In theory this also means that journalists will be able to travel to sensitive areas like Tibet or Xinjiang in the same way that a tourist can, and when we're there, conduct interviews with whoever is prepared to speak.
The Foreign affairs dept was asked to clarify if the new rules will only apply to stories which specifically relate to the Olympic Games?
The response was: covering the Olympics "is not only limited to the Olympics itself but also includes politics, the economy, culture, science, education and other aspects of the host country."
Now, that certainly seems to cover a fair span of reporting subjects.
Another problem has been getting access to certain areas. For example, the ABC needs to apply days in advance if we want to record an interview or film on Tiananmen Square.
Though this is not addressed in the new regulations, the Foreign Affairs office has promised to find a way to make it easier for journalists to get access to Tiananmen Square.
But some think the stumbling block will come with the application of the new regulations.
It's all well and good for officials in Beijing to make these pronouncements but the local police in Tibet may have different ideas.
Then again, this may end up being what it seems and the Government may well let 100 flowers bloom as international reporters interview Chinese people on a range of subjects, the like of which we've never seen.
Certainly China's correspondents are eagerly waiting till the first of January to fire off our interview requests and see what happens.
Someone else who'll be watching the result is New York University's China law expert Jerome Cohen.
The mandarin-speaking Professor has impeccable legal connections in China, probably better than any other foreigner. He's also worked on a series of high-profile cases here, including the jailing of a local New York Times researcher.
Professor Cohen has also been closely watching the progress of media freedoms in China and hopes wider legal reform here will one day come - in this way Chinese journalists may even get some protection through the courts.
JEROME COHEN: Well, of course, I don't have to tell you that being a journalist is a pretty insecure profession. In this country there are many rules that restrict what you can do. Sometimes you only discover them after the fact, and if you are accused of any criminal violation it's very hard to find a fair opportunity to defend yourself.
STEPHEN MCDONELL: With these media laws, on the face of it, they do seem to show there will be some freedom, great increase in the freedom to report in the run up to the Olympics?
JEROME COHEN: Well, as you know, the Chinese Government, in order to attract the Olympics had to make many concessions. This was one of the greatest - there would be free reporting. And they made it clear that after the Olympics these new rules that give the reporters greater freedom - how much isn't clear, it depends on the interpretation - that they're going to be cancelled.
So this isn't like they're promising freedom for all time, it's only for a specific period. But you can imagine the challenge for a country that is not transparent, to entertain 20,000 reporters who normally aren't here, how to manage the news in those circumstances is a really huge challenge.
We don't know what will happen or the rules will be applied, but I am enthusiastic about the long run application of law reform in China.
I think, under the current leadership, you have a huge number of very able people. These are sincere, devoted people operating within severe political limits, but they are operating.
I'm a great believer in the new generations coming along in China. You now have hundreds of thousands of people getting legal education; you now have almost a couple of million of legal experts who didn't exist a generation ago.
These people are all pressure groups, trying to improve the situation, and they naturally don't all agree, but there's an awful lot of expertise now, and growing pressures - as China prospers, as education increases, as China cooperates with the world - growing pressures to have a more regularised, respected legal system.
The problem is China is so huge, so vast, the population is so great, education is still so limited, local interest so various, and you have Chinese traditions such as behind the scenes impact - what they call 'guanxi' - personal relations that trump rules an institutions every time.
This is always going to take a long time, but there is a process underway and Chinese political-legal culture can adapt, can make improvements. The Chinese are extremely smart, sensitive people, but when you look back... I started to come to China in 1972, it was still a China under a cultural revolution, and there was virtually no formal legal system, and people were much more afraid to speak out.
So, from that rudimentary yardstick, you'd have to say there's been a lot of progress. It's going to take a long time. I'd like to see the leaders who could reflect these encouraging situations.
So far, China has not had a leader who is sensitive to legal and political civil human rights factors. They've had some very evil people. Their current leadership has some highly technocratic, well-trained intelligent engineers, but I think China needs social engineers at the top.
ELIZABETH JACKSON: New York University China Law specialist, Jerome Cohen, speaking to our China Correspondent Stephen McDonell.
This is a transcript from Correspondents Report. The program is broadcast around Australia on Sundays at 08:00 on ABC Radio National.
Reporter: Stephen McDonell
ELIZABETH JACKSON: The Chinese Government has announced that foreign journalists will be given unprecedented freedom in the run up to the Beijing Olympics.
A new set of rules governing the behaviour of reporters has been released and, on the face of it, they appear to deliver a level of press freedom never seen in China before.
But journalists have been pouring over the new regulations to see what they really mean, among them the ABC's China Correspondent Stephen McDonell.
STEPHEN MCDONELL: From the first of January 2007, journalists based in China will operate under a new set of rules - rules that are officially in place until the end of the Beijing Olympics.
This follows a promise by the Chinese Government that it would deliver unprecedented press freedom for foreign journalists in the run up to the Games.
But reporters, who can hardly believe that this has actually happened, are going through the new regulations again and again to see where the catch is.
The key change is to be found in article 6.
At the moment if a correspondent wants to interview someone outside Beijing, we are first expected to obtain permission from the Foreign Affairs Department.
But the new regulations state: "to interview organisations or individuals in China, foreign journalists need only to obtain their prior consent."
That's to say, that as long as somebody agrees to be interviewed, we can interview whoever we like, without permission from the Government.
In theory this also means that journalists will be able to travel to sensitive areas like Tibet or Xinjiang in the same way that a tourist can, and when we're there, conduct interviews with whoever is prepared to speak.
The Foreign affairs dept was asked to clarify if the new rules will only apply to stories which specifically relate to the Olympic Games?
The response was: covering the Olympics "is not only limited to the Olympics itself but also includes politics, the economy, culture, science, education and other aspects of the host country."
Now, that certainly seems to cover a fair span of reporting subjects.
Another problem has been getting access to certain areas. For example, the ABC needs to apply days in advance if we want to record an interview or film on Tiananmen Square.
Though this is not addressed in the new regulations, the Foreign Affairs office has promised to find a way to make it easier for journalists to get access to Tiananmen Square.
But some think the stumbling block will come with the application of the new regulations.
It's all well and good for officials in Beijing to make these pronouncements but the local police in Tibet may have different ideas.
Then again, this may end up being what it seems and the Government may well let 100 flowers bloom as international reporters interview Chinese people on a range of subjects, the like of which we've never seen.
Certainly China's correspondents are eagerly waiting till the first of January to fire off our interview requests and see what happens.
Someone else who'll be watching the result is New York University's China law expert Jerome Cohen.
The mandarin-speaking Professor has impeccable legal connections in China, probably better than any other foreigner. He's also worked on a series of high-profile cases here, including the jailing of a local New York Times researcher.
Professor Cohen has also been closely watching the progress of media freedoms in China and hopes wider legal reform here will one day come - in this way Chinese journalists may even get some protection through the courts.
JEROME COHEN: Well, of course, I don't have to tell you that being a journalist is a pretty insecure profession. In this country there are many rules that restrict what you can do. Sometimes you only discover them after the fact, and if you are accused of any criminal violation it's very hard to find a fair opportunity to defend yourself.
STEPHEN MCDONELL: With these media laws, on the face of it, they do seem to show there will be some freedom, great increase in the freedom to report in the run up to the Olympics?
JEROME COHEN: Well, as you know, the Chinese Government, in order to attract the Olympics had to make many concessions. This was one of the greatest - there would be free reporting. And they made it clear that after the Olympics these new rules that give the reporters greater freedom - how much isn't clear, it depends on the interpretation - that they're going to be cancelled.
So this isn't like they're promising freedom for all time, it's only for a specific period. But you can imagine the challenge for a country that is not transparent, to entertain 20,000 reporters who normally aren't here, how to manage the news in those circumstances is a really huge challenge.
We don't know what will happen or the rules will be applied, but I am enthusiastic about the long run application of law reform in China.
I think, under the current leadership, you have a huge number of very able people. These are sincere, devoted people operating within severe political limits, but they are operating.
I'm a great believer in the new generations coming along in China. You now have hundreds of thousands of people getting legal education; you now have almost a couple of million of legal experts who didn't exist a generation ago.
These people are all pressure groups, trying to improve the situation, and they naturally don't all agree, but there's an awful lot of expertise now, and growing pressures - as China prospers, as education increases, as China cooperates with the world - growing pressures to have a more regularised, respected legal system.
The problem is China is so huge, so vast, the population is so great, education is still so limited, local interest so various, and you have Chinese traditions such as behind the scenes impact - what they call 'guanxi' - personal relations that trump rules an institutions every time.
This is always going to take a long time, but there is a process underway and Chinese political-legal culture can adapt, can make improvements. The Chinese are extremely smart, sensitive people, but when you look back... I started to come to China in 1972, it was still a China under a cultural revolution, and there was virtually no formal legal system, and people were much more afraid to speak out.
So, from that rudimentary yardstick, you'd have to say there's been a lot of progress. It's going to take a long time. I'd like to see the leaders who could reflect these encouraging situations.
So far, China has not had a leader who is sensitive to legal and political civil human rights factors. They've had some very evil people. Their current leadership has some highly technocratic, well-trained intelligent engineers, but I think China needs social engineers at the top.
ELIZABETH JACKSON: New York University China Law specialist, Jerome Cohen, speaking to our China Correspondent Stephen McDonell.
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