Beijing Olympics: Government U-turn Ends Ban on Human Rights Websites

China has lifted blocks on several long-barred websites after criticism of their censorship.

The move, which followed overnight talks with the International Olympic Committee, means that sites including those of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the BBC Chinese language service are accessible in Beijing, Shanghai and possibly further afield.

The ban had been deeply embarrassing for the IOC, which had said that journalists would have the same internet access they had enjoyed at previous Olympics.

It was initially thought that only the Olympic media center and hotels used by journalists would have access to such sites, but they are currently visible to internet users far outside those locations.

However, sites with information on the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong, Chinese dissidents, the Tibetan government in exile and the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests are still inaccessible.

The U-turn came as President Hu Jintao said his country would stand by the pledges it made in bidding for the games, in a rare interview with a select group of foreign reporters. "The Chinese government and the Chinese people have been working in real earnest to honor the commitments made to the international community," said Hu.

But he also warned critics against politicizing the Olympics, saying it would not help to resolve contentious issues.

IOC press chief Kevan Gosper said earlier this week that some IOC officials had made a deal to let China block sensitive websites to the media, despite repeated promises of an unrestricted internet. He said the unannounced censorship had been embarrassing for him and that Beijing organizers "could have done better".

But yesterday he said that the IOC president, Jacques Rogge, had assured him that its stance had not changed.

"We met with Beijing organizers and the Chinese authorities yesterday and they have addressed these issues," said an IOC spokeswoman, Emmanuelle Moreau.

Beijing Olympic spokesman Sun Weide declined to confirm that restrictions had been eased, telling reporters only that internet access was "fully open". "Beijing organizers will honor the promise to the IOC to provide sufficient access," he said at a news conference. "At the moment the channel for reporters to use the internet is fully open."

A spokesman for Amnesty International said: "It's good news that our site has been unblocked in Olympic venues and perhaps elsewhere in Beijing, but it is still a long way from the 'complete media freedom' promised. It seems public outrage has succeeded where the IOC's 'quiet diplomacy' had failed."

Chinese engineers quoted in an article in the Atlantic Monthly said they had been told to prepare to unblock access for a list of specific internet protocol addresses to used by foreign visitors.

But Andrew Lih, a new media author in Beijing, said it seemed the authorities might have simply decided it was easier to lift blocks for everyone. "It's possible [to block individual locations] but would be very complicated," he said.