German Athletes Don't Get Newspapers From Home

[Citius Altius Fortius]

At the moment it is not able to get German news papers in the "German house" in Beijing, since the chinese authorities want to censor them before they were delivered...

Does anybody know if this is valid for the athletes of other countries?

The DOSB (German NOC) is getting more and more under pressure by the German public to ask the IOC to intervene!

[Torchbearer AA]

That's where I was afraid of, China who is going to let the people not be free but restrict them in the job they can do normally.

I hope there could change something.

[AmaniS]

Why do they seem to be beating up on the Germans, when it is so much easier to beat up on the Americans?

[jiejie]

Why do they seem to be beating up on the Germans, when it is so much easier to beat up on the Americans?

Actually, this year the Chinese would much prefer to beat up on the French.

It will be interesting to see if this is just a glitch in delivery/logistics, or if it is establishing a censorship pattern for all the foreign athletes.

[Maryjane]

lol. ~Team America is truly the boss~

[Al in NYC]

German newspapers in German sent to a German establishment to be read by Germans - and the Chinese authorities want to censor them? Why? Are they afraid those Germans will somehow see something they haven't seen before (i.e. a free press)?

What an idiotic regime. And they continue to make themselves look even more foolish, harsh, inflexible, isolated, and wholly unready for the international stage they've thrust themselves onto.

[Maryjane]

I don't know where did you get the news from

it says the German newspaper or magazine priced the most among others.

[Citius Altius Fortius]

Maryjane - when did you read that

the German newspaper or magazine priced the most among others.

?

I read it yesterday at the first of August, but the news was already one day old - therewith it was the 31st of July - maybe German newspaper are available again (I said in my first post: "at the moment")

Spiegel article dated 31st July 2008

By the way on the two pics, which you posted, are no German newspapers or magazine visible!!

Edited August 2, 2008 by Citius Altius Fortius

[Maryjane]

Maryjane - when did you read that?

I read it yesterday at the first of August, but the news was already one day old - therewith it was the 31st of July - maybe German newspaper are available again (I said in my first post: "at the moment")

Spiegel article dated 31st July 2008

By the way on the two pics, which you posted, are no German newspapers or magazine visible!!

Because the pics from a news introducing all kinds of news magaizines, it's resource photos. Der Spiegel priced about 10 euros.

[Stu]

According to Mihir Bose, the most well known sports writers for the BBC, was able to access BBC Chinese, Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders and Free Tibet sites from an Internet cafe in one of Beijing's suburbs.

I think the censorship issue is over for now.

[Olympian2004]

Because the pics from a news introducing all kinds of news magaizines, it's resource photos. Der Spiegel priced about 10 euros.

Maryjane, we're talking about the headquarter of the German team in Beijing, the "Deutsches Haus" (German House) -- and not about the general offer of international press in the whole city of Beijing or in the whole Olympic Village. Obviously, the German team was forbidden to offer their home press to their own athletes in their own headquarter!

[jim jones]

According to Mihir Bose, the most well known sports writers for the BBC, was able to access BBC Chinese, Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders and Free Tibet sites from an Internet cafe in one of Beijing's suburbs.

I think the censorship issue is over for now.

The noise of the Press not having access can be more damaging then those website that the Chinese would try to censor.

That could be prompted by the noises coming out of congressmen voicing about this on CNN. The IOC knows that Congress could start looking into the IOC operations like they threatened with the Salt Lake City Bid Scandal and then put huge pressures on the 60 percent of the Worldwide Partners and NBC who are the majority of the IOC's funding. It was after Congress called for Hearings that the IOC started to clean up the Bid process. You get the European and world press outside of America complaining and then Congressmen voicing huge concerns with Wolf Blitzer on CNN and the message would be loud and clear to the IOc and the Chinese.

NBC could be compelled pretty fast to not pay tv rights for the Olympics and NBC is owned by General Electric one of the IOC worldwide partners. China wants these to be a games without controversy but bad press can come very fast with the international press corp. I don't think it is just a congressman in the Us that would have this effect it is the international press corp which could tow the party propaganda before and during the games and then once out of country expose what was not allowed in Beijing.

That would be a big embarrassment to the Chinese.

Again without freedom of the press there is no democracy.

Jim jones

[Faster]

See if you can guess who on this blog is getting 50 cents per post.

7/16/2008

China's 50-cent-a-piece propagandists

For the Chinese authorities, anything goes when it comes to controlling Web 2.0 - and that includes bribing the public into posting propaganda for 50 cents, says Hong Kong blogger Oiwan Lam.

Oiwan Lam is known for stirring up trouble with the super strict Hong Kong internet regulators. She became renowned on the blogosphere after facing charges for linking one of her posts to a nude Renaissance painting last year. In this amateur video, she talks to journalist and blogger Thomas Crampton about the Chinese government's latest scheme to control "alternative content" on the net. She says that writing a pro-government comment on an online debate will get you a reward of 50 cents (5 euro cents), which, if you have enough time on your hands, could amount to a second income.

It’s more about manipulation than censorship"

Thomas Crampton is a journalist in China. He is currently based in Hong Kong. He writes the blog "Thomas Crampton - China, internet and new media seen from Asia".

These suspicious blog messages were first noticed around the time when the Olympic torch arrived in China. Very nationalist and pro-government comments starting appearing in numerous online debates that were critical in some way.

It's well known that university students in China, who are paid very little in their first few years, work as "50-cent-ers". They're a bit like our version of interns!

That said, you have to draw a line between them and the professionals. The scheme is more about manipulation than censorship. The "Fifty Cent Party" is manipulating public opinion through undercover intervention. The real censors, working for the government, are strictly controlling information. They are the ones who track down dissident sites and alert authorities to the use of "subversive" terms like Falun Gong (a spritual movement banned by the Chinese government)."

http://observers.france24.com/en/content/2...line-mind-contr ol-army-censorship

[Maryjane]

See if you can guess who on this blog is getting 50 cents per post.

7/16/2008

China's 50-cent-a-piece propagandists

For the Chinese authorities, anything goes when it comes to controlling Web 2.0 - and that includes bribing the public into posting propaganda for 50 cents, says Hong Kong blogger Oiwan Lam.

Oiwan Lam is known for stirring up trouble with the super strict Hong Kong internet regulators. She became renowned on the blogosphere after facing charges for linking one of her posts to a nude Renaissance painting last year. In this amateur video, she talks to journalist and blogger Thomas Crampton about the Chinese government's latest scheme to control "alternative content" on the net. She says that writing a pro-government comment on an online debate will get you a reward of 50 cents (5 euro cents), which, if you have enough time on your hands, could amount to a second income.

It’s more about manipulation than censorship"

Thomas Crampton is a journalist in China. He is currently based in Hong Kong. He writes the blog "Thomas Crampton - China, internet and new media seen from Asia".

These suspicious blog messages were first noticed around the time when the Olympic torch arrived in China. Very nationalist and pro-government comments starting appearing in numerous online debates that were critical in some way.

It's well known that university students in China, who are paid very little in their first few years, work as "50-cent-ers". They're a bit like our version of interns!

That said, you have to draw a line between them and the professionals. The scheme is more about manipulation than censorship. The "Fifty Cent Party" is manipulating public opinion through undercover intervention. The real censors, working for the government, are strictly controlling information. They are the ones who track down dissident sites and alert authorities to the use of "subversive" terms like Falun Gong (a spritual movement banned by the Chinese government)."

http://observers.france24.com/en/content/2...line-mind-contr ol-army-censorship

LOL~YOU know what. they always battle each other with 5-dollar-ers~ which are pro-Taiwan and pro-Western Parties. They are paid by 5 dollors~

網特被網友按所偏向的國家分別稱為「五毛黨」和「美元黨/五美分黨」，「五毛」指中華人民共和國網特發一貼能賺五角錢人民幣，而「美元」則指為中華民國、美國辯護的網特，以美元來發薪水。(from wiki)

[Maryjane]

The noise of the Press not having access can be more damaging then those website that the Chinese would try to censor.

That could be prompted by the noises coming out of congressmen voicing about this on CNN. The IOC knows that Congress could start looking into the IOC operations like they threatened with the Salt Lake City Bid Scandal and then put huge pressures on the 60 percent of the Worldwide Partners and NBC who are the majority of the IOC's funding. It was after Congress called for Hearings that the IOC started to clean up the Bid process. You get the European and world press outside of America complaining and then Congressmen voicing huge concerns with Wolf Blitzer on CNN and the message would be loud and clear to the IOc and the Chinese.

NBC could be compelled pretty fast to not pay tv rights for the Olympics and NBC is owned by General Electric one of the IOC worldwide partners. China wants these to be a games without controversy but bad press can come very fast with the international press corp. I don't think it is just a congressman in the Us that would have this effect it is the international press corp which could tow the party propaganda before and during the games and then once out of country expose what was not allowed in Beijing.

That would be a big embarrassment to the Chinese.

Again without freedom of the press there is no democracy.

Jim jones

Definitly, I heard about the South China because of it's distance far away from Beijing, they get better freedom. But the North China just a 1970s-1980s like atmosphere. And the local officials and the central government are battling for this because that be harmed for their benefit, like corruptions, social unrest blah blah.