China Violently Interrupts Dutch Broadcast
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – A Dutch journalist was violently pulled away by Chinese security personnel from the camera Friday while he reported on live television about the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The incident happened after an anchorwoman of the Netherlands’ public broadcaster NOS said: “We are going to China, to our correspondent Sjoerd den Daas. Sjoerd, you are near the stadium; what is China going to show in the next hours?”
Visibly shocked, the anchorwoman then looked on as he told the NOS Journaal news program: “Yeah, well, we are getting pulled away, as you might notice, we have also been forced to leave another area, so I fear we’ll have to get….”
The interruption came from a man wearing a black jacket and a red band around the sleeve, while other men looked on nearby footage showed. That man was apparently part of a neighborhood watch established to help police maintain order
Anxious minutes later, Den Daas could finish his report from another location. But NOS said in a statement that the attack against its reporter was an example of what journalists in China have to endure.
Rights groups say pressure on media and faith groups such as Christians and political opponents have increased under hardline Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Friday’s incident involving the Dutch broadcaster also came amid a debate about freedom of expression during the Olympics.
U.S. Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi instructed U.S. athletes to not “speak out” against communist China’s reported human rights abuses during the Winter Olympics because it might make China angry.
“I would say to our athletes — you are there to compete,” Pelosi stressed during testimony before the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China. “Do not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government because they are ruthless,” she said.
“I know there is a temptation on the part of some to speak out while they are there; I respect that. But, I also worry about what the Chinese government might do to their reputations, to their families.”
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