Olympics-China says to give foreign journalists freedom

BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) China will allow foreign journalists to travel and report more freely across most of the country in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics, but the relaxed rules would expire when the Games are over, the Foreign Ministry said today.

At present, foreign reporters need government permission to report outside their home base -- usually Beijing or Shanghai -- but under the new rules, they need only the agreement of the person they are interviewing, ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a new conference in Beijing.

The media restrictions are one of several democracy issues raised by human rights groups which have criticised the International Olympic Committee for awarding the Games to China.

''When you travel your rights are the same as all foreign nationals in China. When you interview a person or company, you don't have to apply to the local foreign affairs office for permission and they don't have the responsibility to ask what 'What are you doing here?' '' Liu said.

He said the regulations would take effect from January. 1 and expire on October. 17, 2008. He said restrictions for foreigners travelling to farwestern Xinjiang and Tibet would still apply to journalists.

Beijing Games organisers pledged in September that foreign media would be free to travel around China and enjoy uncensored access to the Internet during the Olympics.

Non-Chinese journalists currently need permission to move around the country, while Web sites containing material considered sensitive by the Chinese government are often blocked.

REUTERS SY PM0931