Opinions | Editorials
Fair play is the creed of Olympics
China should not renege on its promises and allow the media to do their job.
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:03 June 11, 2008
With the Beijing Games just months away, the onus is on China and the organisers to present the country's fairest possible face to the rest of the world.
Beijing won the right to bid for the Games by making certain promises to the Olympic fraternity seven years ago: the time has now come for them to deliver on those commitments.
Chief among them were the undertaking that the media would not be muzzled. And for a universal spectacle such as the Olympics the role of the media is second to none.
The government enacted a law 18 months ago giving foreign reporters 'free access' to do their jobs - although certain areas of the country, such as Tibet, are off limits. That promise has since been reneged upon.
Television networks that have paid millions for the right to be official broadcasters in their parts of the world are now being tripped up at every step of the way by unnecessary bureaucracy and behind-the-scene manoeuvres.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg. How will the organisers react when over 30,000 accredited and non-accredited journalists descend to record China's progress as the success story of the 21st century? In China, the games have already begun.
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