Beijing Olympics 2008: winning press freedomWhat press freedom conditions can journalists and sports writers expect when they go to China to cover the 2008 Summer Olympics? An international conference designed to answer their questions, and to examine the methods that China uses to control the press, will be held in Paris next month, 18 –19 April 2008. The conference, organised by a coalition of press freedom groups including the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), the World Press Freedom Committee, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights in China and Asia Presse, is intended to provide expert insight on the press freedom conditions that journalists – particularly sports journalists – will encounter in China. China and foreign news mediaA session on how China deals with foreign news media will feature Yuwen Wu, news editor of the BBC China Service; Joceyln Ford, chair of the Media Freedoms Committee at the Foreign Correspondents Club of China; and Fan Ho Tsai, chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association. Other sessions will examine press freedom and the Beijing Olympics, how the Chinese news media is controlled, what reporting conditions can be expected for the Olympics, the risks, opportunities and responsibilities involved with trading with China, and the limits and the freedoms surrounding China's Internet. Other confirmed speakers include:
No chargeThe conference has been made possible by a generous grant from the John S and James L Knight Foundation. There is no charge for attending the conference, which will be held at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris. The evolving conference programme may be found at www.beijing2008conference.com/home.php. The conference is to be introduced by Professor Merle Goldman of Harvard and Boston Universities, a leading authority and prolific writer on civic rights in China. |