Olympic Beijing Censoring

Olympic chiefs day said they were investigating reports that Beijing officials confiscated the notebooks and tape recorders of Chinese journalists on her.

A witness at a press conference, which includes the U.S. men's volleyball team claimed yesterday, local reporters were accosted after frank discussions with some of the players on the murder of Todd Bachman.

62-year-old American who poodle a Chinese man, while sightseeing in Beijing on Saturday, was the father-in-law Hugh McCutcheon, U.S. team coach.

Beijing Olympic staff argued that wanted to know what was said, because the discussion was not properly understood in English, despite the presence of the official interpreters. But Chinese journalists in the past to back his remarks or tape, according to observers.

Incidents of concern that the Chinese authorities are trying to delete Olympics link to the murder of U.S. citizen in order to reduce the damage to the image of their game.

Mr. Bachman connection to the U.S. volleyball team was originally reported in CCTV, the state television channel, and the Chinese-language press. But the news was relegated to the section in front of the English-language China Daily and after removal of some Chinese websites.

Comments on "death" to Mr. Bachman was carried out on the Olympic News Service, the official intranet system in the Olympic sites, but quote the American players have been omitted.

Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic organising committee (Bocog), claimed that he was unaware of the incident. He said Chinese journalists the right to the Olympic Games. Their rights are protected under the Chinese Constitution. "

Spokesman for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that the matter was investigated. It is alleged that the journalists should be free to report on the game, not only within the official premises, but outside, as well as long as local laws are respected. Freedom is a contractual obligation between the IOC and Beijing, host city.

But the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) obviously Chinese authorities "snooping" after receiving reports of security officials, shadowing the media on mission in Beijing.

On Saturday, as journalists covered the scene of the murder of Mr. Bachman and the subsequent suicide attacker on the Chinese Drum Tower, a tourist spot near the Forbidden City, notes photographed unknown strangers.

In a separate incident, a foreign journalist said the IFJ was stopped by two men without press accreditation, who took pictures of him and his notes after the interview with a French athlete at the airport.

Similarly, journalists interviews and dissatisfied owner of the land in Tienanmen Square in photographing strangers, who refused to identify.

"This is unacceptable interference in the work of journalists," Aidan White, IFJ Secretary-General, "he said.

"Again, we call on Chinese authorities to good on their promise that journalists can work without intimidation. Protection of journalistic sources is the cornerstone of press freedom. This kind of activity shows a complete violation of this principle by the Chinese authorities."