US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman yesterday condemned the harassment and beating of some foreign reporters who went to cover a planned protest gathering against the government.
It is the third time in as many weeks that Huntsman has set himself publicly against the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to stamp out dissent.
Lines of police checked passers-by and warned away foreign photo journalists in downtown Beijing and Shanghai on Sunday after a US-based Chinese Web site spread calls for Chinese people to emulate the “Jasmine Revolution” sweeping the Middle East and assemble in support of democratic change.
Before the designated protest time, Chinese police warned foreign journalists to stay away, and many Chinese dissidents and rights activists have been detained or put under informal house arrest, apparently out of official jitters about the protest call.
A US news videographer was kicked and beaten repeatedly in the face with brooms and taken into police custody, witnesses said. Other reporters were detained by police and some were roughed up, including one from Taiwan whose hand was injured, they said.
Huntsman said he had met with several of the reporters who had been detained or harassed.
“This type of harassment and intimidation is unacceptable and deeply disturbing. I am disappointed that the Chinese public security authorities could not protect the safety and property of foreign journalists doing their jobs,” Huntsman said in a statement.
“I call on the Chinese government to hold the perpetrators accountable for harassing and assaulting innocent individuals and ask that they respect the rights of foreign journalists to report in China,” he said.
The EU also voiced concerns about the harassment of reporters.
“We urge the Chinese authorities to respect the rights of foreign journalists to report freely in China ... and also to ensure their physical safety,” its diplomatic mission in Beijing said. “We call on the relevant authorities to clarify the legal basis for the physical obstruction and detention of foreign journalists.”
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