Beijing

New York, July 31, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the decision to award the 2022 Winter Olympic Games to Beijing and calls on the International Olympic Committee to ensure that journalists are able to freely cover all aspects of the Games, including sensitive issues such as construction of the venues, possible protests, and any allegations of corruption. The IOC announced its decision early today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, according to news reports. Local and international human rights and press freedom experts have repeatedly expressed deep concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in China, which has included a crackdown on journalists, activists, and academics.

By Sumit Galhotra/CPJ Steiger Fellow

Almost two months have passed since President Xi Jinping took office. Despite expectations for greater transparency, Beijing continues to try to suppress information on a broad range of issues from human rights to public health.

By Madeline Earp/CPJ Senior Asia Research Associate

"The Beijing branch of Al-Jazeera is still functioning normally."

This was not an auspicious reaction to the news that Al-Jazeera English has closed its Beijing bureau after being refused journalist visas. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Hong Lei's responses at today's press conference did not improve from there, according to a partial transcript published by Voice of America. His explanations for the ministry's refusal to renew credentials for the channel's Beijing correspondent Melissa Chan were a mixture of denial and obfuscation. (Al-Jazeera's Arabic-language bureau continues to operate with several accredited journalists, according to The Associated Press.)