(Big League Politics) – A reporter representing a Dutch news outlet was dragged away on video by a Chinese security officer outside the arena during a live broadcast of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.
Sjoerd den Daas of NOS Nieuws (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, a member of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system) can be seen in the clip shoved and herded away from the broadcast by a Chinese security agent in a black jacket and red armband.
Onze correspondent @sjoerddendaas werd om 12.00u live in het NOS Journaal door beveiligers voor de camera weggetrokken. Helaas is dit steeds vaker de dagelijkse realiteit voor journalisten in China. Hij is in orde en kon zijn verhaal gelukkig een paar minuten later afmaken pic.twitter.com/GLTZRlZV96
— NOS (@NOS) February 4, 2022
Reports of the incident thus far have indicated that it remains unclear what the Dutch reporter had done to prompt physical altercation with the Chinese security goon.
In its post of the video clip, NOS wrote: “Our correspondent [den Daas] was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12:00 pm live in the NOS Journal. Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming a daily reality for journalists in China. He is fine and was able to finish his story a few minutes later.”
Breitbart News stated that by some reports, the Chinese security guard is heard saying in Mandarin, “hurry up, step quickly,” as the Dutch reporter replies, “I’m allowed to be here.”
Per Yahoo News, Dutch tabloid Algemeen Dagblad quoted NOS editor-in-chief Marcel Gelauff as saying the clip was “a painful illustration” of how foreign press is treated in China. “Sjoerd has often told and shown that it is difficult as a journalist in China. There is a far-reaching tendency to curtail freedoms, and this may be even stronger because of corona,” said Gelauff.
The treatment of reporters like den Daas, Dutch or otherwise, is nothing new in China. A report released in January revealed the numerous forms of blowback reporters sometimes face from the Chinese Communist Party, including constant legal threats for different stories, constant stalking by government officials, and even sudden bouts of arguably unjust detainment.
bigleaguepolitics.com/watch-chinese-security-goon-drags-dutch-reporter-off-during-olympic-broadcast/