Paris Conference Video Series: Paul Steiger

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been warning the international community about China's failing to live up to its promises to improve its press freedom situation as a condition to being selected as the Games organizer.

At the Paris conference, CPJ Chairman Paul Steiger gave a sobering account of this failure and the failure of the OIC to keep the Beijing government accountable.

Steiger touched on the following subjects:
1. The press freedom situation in China has worsened and the government continues to put more journalists in prison than any other country in the world.
2. The IOC's shameless passing the buck when it comes to demanding accountability from Chinese authorities.
3. What visiting journalists can expect during their coverage of the Games?
4. What journalists will be most at risk of prosecution during the Games?

Paris Conference Video Series: Per Toien

Sport is politics and we all need to face this fact, especially in the context of the upcoming Beijing Olympics, says Per Toien, a high official of the Norwegian Olympic Committee.

He also insists boycotts do more harm than good and hopes that the Games will help advance the cause of human rights in China. Among others, in his presentation he dealt with the following issues:

1. The close relationship between sports and politics.
2. The opposition of the Norwegian Olympic Committee to boycotting the Games was unanimous.
3. China is attracting too much attention to his human rights record.
4. Norwegian athletes will respect the IOC Charter during the Games.

Paris Conference Video Series: AP Reporter Steve Wilson

After covering ten Olympic Games for the Associated Press, Steve Wilson is an expert dealing with local authorities to have full access to events taking place both inside and outside the Olympic Village.

He has been in China recently testing the waters in which 30,000 foreign journalists will have to swim during the Games.

At the Paris Conference, he touched on the following topics of great interest to reporters who will visit China on 08-08-08.

1. Western media have paid little attention to Olympic issues and a lot to Tibetan protests.
2. Western media broadcasts are regularly blacked out by the authorities in China.
3. Will live TV broadcasts be allowed during the Games?
4. 10,000 foreign journalists will not be accredited during the Games.
5. Beijing will not stand alone as the most problematic Olympiad.

Paris Conference Video Series: Henrikas Yushkiavitshus

The effects of politics on the Olympic Games is nothing new, and if there is one person in the world who can tell us all about it, that's Henrikas Yushkiavitshus, who served as vice-chairman of Soviet television and radio for 19 years and was involved in preparing the media coverage of several Olympiads.

During his presentation at the Paris Conference, Yushkiavitshus, who is also former UNESCO Assistant Director of Communications, dealt with crucial issues, including the following:

1. Fighting attempts to deny visas to foreign journalists based on political reasons.
2. The devastating effects of boycotting the Games, first the ones in Moscow,
3. And then the ones in Los Angeles.
4. The role of the host country's media in keeping organizers accountable.

Paris Conference Video Series: Dr. Merle Goldman

Starting today, we will be posting video clips containing highlights of the presentations offered at the "Beijing Olympics: Winning Press Freedom" conference held in April in Paris.

We begin with soundbites from the lecture by Merle Goldman, Professor Emerita of History at Boston University and Research Associate at Harvard University's John K. Fairbank Center for East Asia Research. Her soundbites deal with the following subjects:

1. The massive demonstrations taking place in mid-April in some parts of China.
2. The crucial part young Chinese are playing in the resurgence of nationalism.
3. What foreign journalist should expect when they arrive in China to cover the Games.
4. The role courageous journalists play in opposing the Chinese government's censorship.
5. What gives the Chinese government its legitimacy.