MFA ANNOUNCES RELAXED RULES FOR FOREIGN MEDIA FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 024239

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCUL KOLY SOCI CH
SUBJECT: MFA ANNOUNCES RELAXED RULES FOR FOREIGN MEDIA FOR
BEIJING OLYMPICS


Summary
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1. Foreign journalists will not need host
organizations or permission from provincial foreign
affairs offices to conduct news gathering activities
in China during the period surrounding the 2008
Beijing Olympics, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
spokesman Liu Jianchao announced at a special press
conference December 1. Liu presented the new rules in
introducing State Council Order No. 477, which covers
all foreign media activity in connection with the
Games. The order takes effect January 1, 2007 and
expires on October 17, 2008, Liu said. End Summary.


2. Full text of the State Council Order No. 477 as it
appears on the Xinhua News Agency web site in English:

Regulations on Reporting Activities in China by
Foreign Journalists During the Beijing Olympic Games
and the Preparatory Period

Article 1: These regulations are formulated to
facilitate reporting activities carried out in
accordance with the laws of the People's Republic of
China by foreign journalists in China to advance and
promote the Olympic Spirit during the Beijing Olympic
Games and the preparatory period.

Article 2: These regulations apply to reporting
activities carried out by foreign journalists covering
the Beijing Olympic Games and related matters in China
during the Beijing Olympic Games and the preparatory
period. The Beijing Games mentioned in the
regulations refer to the 29th Olympic Games and the
13th Paralympic Games.

Article 3: Foreign journalists who intend to come to
China for reporting should apply for visas at Chinese
embassies, consulates or other visa-issuing
institutions authorized by the Minsitry of Foreign
Affairs of China. Foreign journalists who hold valid
Olympic Identity and Accreditation Cards and
Paralympic Identity and Accreditation Cards are
entitled to multiple entries into the territory of the
People's Republic of China with visa exemption by
presenting Olympic Identity and Accreditation Cards,
together with valid passports or other travel
documents.

Article 4: Foreign journalists may bring a reasonable
quantity of reporting equipment into China duty free
for their own use. The aforementioned equipment
should be shipped out of China's territory at the end
of their reporting activities. To bring into China
reporting equipment duty free for their own use,
foreign journalists should apply for the Equipment
Confirmation Letter at Chinese embassies or consulates
and present the Equipment Confirmation Letter together
with a J-2 visa when going through customs inspection.
Foreign journalists who hold Olympic Identity and
Accreditation Cards and Paralympic Identity and
Accreditation Cards may present the Equipment
Confirmation Letter issued by the Organizing Committee
of the 29th Olympic Games when going through customs
inspection.

Article 5: For reporting needs, foreign journalists
may, on a temporary basis, bring in, install and use
radio communication equipment after completing the
required application and approval procedures.

Article 6: To interview organizations or individuals
in China, foreign journalists need only to obtain
their prior consent.

Article 7: Foreign journalists may, through
organizations providing services to foreign nationals,
hire Chinese citizens to assist them in their
reporting activities.

Article 8: The media guide for foreign journalists of
the Beijing Olympics shall be formulated by the
Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games in
accordance with these regulations.

Article 9: These regulations shall come into force as
of January 1, 2007 and expire on October 17, 2008.


3. Liu added that reporters who come to China on a

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temporary basis no longer need a local host
organization. They also will not need the consent of
local Foreign Affairs Offices (FAO) to report in the
provinces, including Xinjiang and Tibet. Instead,
reporters only need the prior consent of the
individual or organization they want to interview, and
this agreement can be written or verbal. Liu stated
that the new rules will take precedence where there is
overlap or conflict with the 1990 regulations on
foreign journalists and added that reporters are
welcome to report on a variety of political, economic
and social issues in China. Liu declined to discuss
why the order will expire in October 2008.


4. The MFA and relevant organizations will take
concrete measures to educate all local government
organs on the letter and spirit of the new regulations
so that officials do not interfere with the reporting
activities of foreign journalists, Liu said. He added
that if "practical problems in local implementation
arise," the foreign journalists who are affected
should contact the MFA for assistance. Local
officials may, however, restrict foreign reporters'
news gathering in cases where there are disturbances
of public order or emergencies. Liu said foreign
journalists may take pictures of such incidents in
public areas that are normally unrestricted to foreign
nationals and as long as the people photographed "are
not offended."


5. The State Council will soon consider issues
related to the status of reporters from Hong Kong and
Macau who will come to the Mainland to cover the
Olympics, Liu related.
Randt