China and Internet Negotiations for the 2008 Olympics Introduction Earlier in the year, during the Olympics that were held in China there appears as though there was some negotiation involving the amount of internet access that would be available during the Olympics. The negotiations were primarily involved with journalists who would be reporting on the Olympics. Apparently it was made clear, when China desired to be the host for the Olympics, that they would allow all access on the internet but once the Olympics were in place, destined for China, negotiations took place. The following paper examines these negotiations.
China and Internet Negotiations for the 2008 Olympics The condition of this particular negotiation was clearly one that affected the entire world, one that impacted journalists from all over the world, though perhaps not detrimentally so. According to one author, “Some International Olympic Committee [IOC] officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted access” (Huffington Post, 2008). It appeared as though China had “committed” to offering journalists the freedoms they experienced at other Olympics in relationship to their use of the internet and reporting but then went back on that promise in light of negations offered by the IOC (Huffington Post, 2008). The IOC press chief Kevan Gosper stated that he understood there were some of the IOC officials who had negotiated with the Chinese Olympic organization in relationship to sensitive sites that “’would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related’” (Huffington Post, 2008). At the same time it also appeared as though the negotiations were only limited in relationship to these sensitive sites and that overall, “During the Olympic Games we
will provide reporters with sufficient and convenient