Beijing Games media rules to be implemented in 2007

BEIJING, Aug 10 (Reuters) Beijing organising committee chief Liu Qi said China would issue and implement regulations for foreign media reporting on the 2008 Olympics next year, state media reported today.

A recent crackdown on the press drew criticism from a media watchdog on Tuesday, the start of the two-year countdown to the Games, and other media organisations have expressed concern journalists will not be able to operate freely during the Games.

Liu, president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, said the government was drafting the regulations.

''The regulations will fully take into account, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s international practices and will be based on the commitments that the Chinese government made when it made its bid,'' he told a meeting of Olympic broadcasters in the Chinese capital.

''It will facilitate interviewing and reporting activities of foreign reporters in China during the Olympic Games.

''We will ensure that during the Olympic Games, foreign reporters will be provided with good working conditions,'' he added.

Liu previously gave a commitment that media would be able to operate in the same way they had at previous Games and that if international norms conflicted with those of China, the international practices would prevail.

China already has a law governing the activities of foreign media working in the country, including restrictions on travel outside the main cities.

Around 20,000 media, including broadcasters and technical support staff, are accredited by the IOC for an Olympic Games and their credentials act as visas, a practice Liu said would be honoured in 2008.

Host cities have traditionally also provided facilities for the many ''non-accredited'' media who come to cover the event.

''The visa application procedures for foreign journalists will also be simplified,'' Liu said.

Liu also said there would be regulations on interviewing and employing local people. Currently Chinese nationals are not allowed to be employed as journalists by foreign media, although many work as assistants and analysts.

Reuters PM DB1342