From The Christian Science Monitor:
In a sweeping liberalization of its reporting rules, China Friday suspended decades-old restrictions on foreign journalists in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games.
The new regulations, allowing foreign reporters to travel throughout the country and to interview people without prior official permission, are clearly aimed at keeping the government’s promise to the International Olympic Committee that it would allow free reporting during and before the 2008 games.
Foreign correspondents in China greeted the news with cautious optimism. “This is a welcome step,” says Melinda Liu, president of the Foreign Correspondents Club of China and Beijing bureau chief for Newsweek magazine. “The proof of how valuable the new regulations will be will depend on their implementation, however,” she adds. “The biggest concern is still the [authorities’] culture of nontransparency and the habit of not being open to foreign or any other media.” [Full Text]
