Beijing police detained news reporters from Hong Kong based NOW TV on July 24 while the station was reporting on a story about Beijing residents who waited in long lines to buy admission tickets to the Olympic Games. NOW TV issued a statement protesting the interference against their freedom of press by the Beijing authorities.
The statement says the arrest was groundless. NOW TV strongly opposes orders by Beijing police to force reporters to delete their footage along with rude conduct by police.
This is the second time that NOW TV’s news reporters have been impeded in their coverage of the Beijing Olympics over the past week, the statement says.
According to NOW TV’s report, Beijing kicked off the fourth series of ticket sales for the Games on July 25. More than 2,000 people had already waited in line to buy the tickets, which had caused several fights in the queue. NOW TV’s reporter and cameraman were covering this story but were stopped by the police. The cameraman was detained in a police car and was questioned. They were also asked to delete their footage. The police later released the cameraman under the intervention of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council.
NOW TV’s statement also says that all of their reporters in Beijing have obtained the required permits. It urges the Beijing authorities to live up to the promises made by the Beijing Organizing Committee that news reporters would have freedom of press.
