China Says Police `Properly Handled' Reporters at Protest

[Octafish]

Source: Bloomberg News

China’s Foreign Ministry said some journalists at the site of a planned protest in Beijing on Feb. 27 had broken reporting rules, disrupting “normal order,” and that police “properly handled” the situation.

Several journalists said they were forcibly removed and detained without explanation as they tried to report from Wangfujing Street on protests called to demand an end to corruption and misrule. A Bloomberg News reporter was beaten by at least five plain-clothes men in front of uniformed police.

“Many media organizations haven’t encountered any trouble while reporting in China for many years,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, during a 90-minute questioning by foreign journalists at a longer-than-usual biweekly briefing. “Why do some journalists always run into trouble? I find it strange. The journalists should really respect the laws and regulations.”

An open letter posted online called for people to carry out “jasmine” rallies, named after the uprising in Tunisia that has spread through the Middle East. While at least seven people were arrested in Shanghai’s People’s Square, there were no visible signs of protest in Beijing.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-01/china-says-police-properly-handled-reporters-at-protest-1-.html

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