China:The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should put more pressure on China to ease restrictions on media freedoms ahead of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the rights group Human Rights Watch said as China prepared to mark "Journalists' Day" tomorrow.
The New York-based activists said China was not delivering on its promises to give greater freedoms for foreign journalists to report.
The IOC needed to end its silence on the Chinese government's ongoing violations of its pledge on media freedoms, a commitment it made to the IOC to win its bid to host the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing, Human Rights Watch said.
"The IOC's reluctance to challenge the Chinese government's ongoing violations of media freedoms is at odds with the Olympic Charter's dedication to 'ethical principles' and 'preservation of human dignity'," Sophie Richardson, the group's deputy Asia director, said in a statement.
"If the IOC can criticise the Chinese government's failure to improve Beijing's air quality ahead of the 2008 Games, why can't it speak out about China's failure to respect its Olympic pledge on press freedom?"
Since the start of the year, a relaxation of rules means foreign journalists are allowed to speak with any consenting interviewees and are allowed travel to report anywhere in the country without seeking permission, with the exception of Xinjiang and Tibet.
While the situation has improved considerably for foreign reporters, the concern is that the rules do not extend to Chinese reporters, or to the local assistants, fixers, researchers and translators who work with foreign media.
"All these journalists remain vulnerable to reprisals from state security authorities for pursuing stories that run counter to official propaganda dictates on what constitutes acceptable news," Human Rights Watch said.
There have also been episodes where the new rules have not been followed, especially in rural areas.