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US criticizes Chinese beating of
reporters
Reuters, BEIJING
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 Partyˇ¦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 ˇ§Jasmine Revolutionˇ¨ 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.
ˇ§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,ˇ¨ Huntsman said
in a statement.
ˇ§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,ˇ¨ he said.
The EU also voiced concerns about the harassment of reporters.
ˇ§We urge the Chinese authorities to respect the rights of foreign journalists to
report freely in China ... and also to ensure their physical safety,ˇ¨ its
diplomatic mission in Beijing said. ˇ§We call on the relevant authorities to
clarify the legal basis for the physical obstruction and detention of foreign
journalists.ˇ¨
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