Hong Kong journalist beaten by guards inside People’s Congress in Beijing

By REPORTERS SANS FRONTIERES - REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS
October 28, 2006

Wung Huo, the Beijing correspondent of the Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily newspaper, was beaten by security guards in the Chinese Congress in Beijing yesterday while covering an international beauty contest taking place inside the People’s Congress.

“This latest incident, involving security guards inside one of China’s leading institutions, illustrates the kind of risk reporters will be exposed to during the Olympic Games,” Reporters Without Borders said. “There is an urgent need for sanctions to be taken against police officers and security guards who deliberate attack journalists.”

Security guards told the accredited photographers covering the Miss International contest they were too close to the stage and began to push them back by force. Wung was pushed into a corner and beaten by at least one guard, sustaining head wounds and a nose fracture. The blows only came to an end when another guard shouted: “Stop the beating! The guests are arriving.”

http://www.rsf.org