Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games regrets interruption of simulcast on ZDF German Television

Mainz (ots) - The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of
the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) has responded to the interruption of a
simulcast on ZDF German Television last week. At the last meeting of
the world broadcasters before the start of the Olympic Games,
Beijing's deputy major, Cai Fuchao, and Sun Weijia, Director of the
BOCOG Media Operations Department, expressed their regret about the
intervention of security forces. In front of international
representatives of rights holders both of them promised, such an
incident would not occur again. It was said that BOCOG's president
Liu Qi, who is also Party secretary of Beijing, yesterday expressed
his regrets, too. ZDF has not received an official written apology
yet.

Beforehand in letters to both BOCOG and the Chinese Foreign Office
ZDF's Editor in Chief, Nikolaus Brender, had entered a strong
protest. "We are worried about the rising number of interferences of
the free press by Chinese security forces", Brender said today. "We
take note of BOCOG's step. At the same time we consider this promise
binding on all responsible security authorities and their personnel."

ZDF's correspondent in Beijing, Johannes Hano, is speaking of a
promising signal: "We have never seen such a step in the past. We
hope the Chinese authorities keep their promise to guarantee full
freedom of press for the Olympics."

In the morning of July 3rd 2008 Chinese security forces massively
disrupted an authorized simulcast from the Great Wall, which then had
to be discontinued. Security personnel in uniform and plain clothes
were holding their hands in front of the camera and insisted on
stopping the live program. As an explanation they referred to the
interview with an American historian, which was part of the program.
This came although ZDF had registered all participants and received
all necessary authorizing documents.

After a complaint to the Foreign Office by ZDF's bureau in Beijing
all following simulcasts on that morning succeeded without any
interference. This incident had a wide international echo. The
disruption of a live program stands in sharp contradiction to the
Chinese government's promise to guarantee the freedom of press for
the Olympics.

Mainz, July 9th, 2008
ZDF Pressestelle

Originaltext: ZDF
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