Beijing the "Open" Olympics. Not!
Despite assurances to the Olympic committee and the World, China is not easing up on security and media restrictions, if anything things are getting wrose.
Recently a German TV crew were stopped from filming a live-to-air segment on the Great Wall of China - the story was how scenic the area was and the cultural and historic significance of the Wall.
Areas in Beijing, such as Tiananmen Square, where TV crews had expected to be able to film at any time are now being restricted to set periods during the day.
A British citizen who taught English in Beijing for two years was recently detained and then 15 hours later found herself back in Britain. Her crime? She is ethnically Tibetan and had once being active in an International Campaign for Tibet. This was well known to the Chinese Government who had repeatedly issued her with work visas.
The pervasive secrecy is made worse by the Government, military, police and security forces not communicating with key parties about security restrictions or rules. I guess when you run an authoritarian state you don’t really get much practise explaining your actions.
