Não à censura | No to censorship

Apesar de estar de férias não consegui deixar de reagir às pressões que a China tem feito sobre os jornalistas, especialmente sobre os estrangeiros, durante os Jogos. O pior de tudo é que está toda a gente a ir na conversa de tal maneira que se um jornalista for expulso dos Jogos de Pequim não poderá assistir aos de Londres em 2012. Três já foram convidados a sair. Entretanto e durante a abertura dos jogos os Repórteres sem Fronteiras manifestaram-se em favor dos bloggers, jornalistas e ciber-dissidentes presos na China. Este meu tweet foi um desabafo, que ecoou aqui e aqui. Dave Green, jornalista freelance, escreveu um artigo muito interessante sobre a censura nos jogos. Não podemos ficar satisfeitos com apenas aquilo que nos querem mostrar, ser jornalista significa falar do que é preciso ser mostrado. Aqui lembro-me do George Orwell: “Numa era de mentiras universais, dizer a verdade é um acto revolucionário.” Eu diria necessário.

Despite being on holidays i couldn’t help reacting to the pressure that China has imposed on journalists, especially foreign, during the Games. The worst part is that everyone is playing along in such way that it is settled that if a journalist is expelled from the Beijing Games he won’t attend to the London Olympics in 2012. Three have already been invited out. Meanwhile, and during the opening ceremony, the Reporters Without Borders demonstrated in favour of bloggers, journalists and cyber-dissidents jailed in China. This tweet of mine was to let off some steam, and it echoed here and here. Dave Green, a freelance journalist, wrote a very interesting article about censorship during the games. We cannot be happy with what they want to show us, being a journalist means to talk about what it needs to be shown. Here i recall George Orwell: “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”. I’d say necessary.

Over on the country’s newsdesks, it took the influence of foreign editors to ensure the reporting of a US tourist’s murder received due prominence on the front pages and was not buried. Other coverage did not benefit from the same influence: the Xinhua News Agency’s report of five Tibet protesters detained in Tiananmen Square on the same day was tacked onto the bottom of the same reports of the tourist attack.

Dave Green, Journalism.co.uk