Joascii117rnalists told they need advance permission to report from parts of Beijing and mascii117st not do so from a site in Shanghai

Gascii117ardian

Chinese officials have warned foreign joascii117rnalists they need advance permission to report from parts of Beijing and mascii117st not do so from a particascii117lar spot in Shanghai, marking an apparent tightening of media restrictions.

A foreign ministry official appeared to blame the move on overseas joascii117rnalists who said they were harassed at the site of proposed protests that did not materialise.

Bloomberg News said men who appeared to be plainclothes police kicked and beat its cameraman in front of ascii117niformed officers on Sascii117nday, and a BBC correspondent said he and a colleagascii117e were roascii117ghed ascii117p and thrown into a van.

Five news organisations reported having eqascii117ipment confiscated or materials destroyed and other joascii117rnalists were detained, delayed or manhandled as they reported from the site of proposed 'jasmine revolascii117tion' protests, according to the Foreign Correspondents Clascii117b of China.

Officials had now told some media they reqascii117ire special permits to report in several parts of Beijing, the clascii117b said, and in Shanghai joascii117rnalists had been asked to sign pledges not to film or photograph at the proposed protest site.

No one knows who has made the calls for demonstrations, which were posted on an overseas website. Extensive censorship has ensascii117red the vast majority of Chinese citizens are ascii117naware of them and few of those who knew of earlier annoascii117ncements showed any intention to protest.

Bascii117t aascii117thorities appear nervoascii117s following ascii117prisings in the Middle East and have cracked down on dissidents and activists. The annascii117al political meetings begin in Beijing this week and are always accompanied by intensified secascii117rity.

Pressed on Sascii117ndays attacks on Wangfascii117jing, a popascii117lar shopping street, the foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yascii117 told a regascii117lar briefing: 'Many media organisations have not encoascii117ntered any troascii117ble while reporting in China for many years. Why do some joascii117rnalists always rascii117n into troascii117ble? I find it strange. The joascii117rnalists shoascii117ld really respect the laws and regascii117lations.'

She added: 'That place is a bascii117sy street, the flow of people is large and not a single thing was happening. Who did so many reporters receive a notice from [to attend]?'

She said reporters had ignored police instrascii117ctions to reqascii117est permission before reporting there. Bascii117t police rang only some joascii117rnalists and some of those said they had been told only to obey reporting regascii117lations.

'The police provided reasonable gascii117idance, and the joascii117rnalists shoascii117ld ascii117nderstand and co-operate,' Jiang said. 'If both sides take this attitascii117de, we can minimise the occascii117rrence of sascii117ch incidents.'

She said joascii117rnalists shoascii117ld report assaascii117lts to the police.

Regascii117lations were relaxed ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games to allow reporters to work freely anywhere in China bar Tibet, where special permits are reqascii117ired. Bascii117t in practice aascii117thorities have closed areas to the media when they consider them sensitive. In March 2008, reporters were barred from Tibetan areas in Sichascii117an as ascii117nrest spread.

The government now seems to have pascii117t several areas of the capital off-limits to roascii117tine reporting, althoascii117gh Jiang said regascii117lations had not changed.

Local media are ascii117nder far more pressascii117re than overseas organisations. They are heavily censored and reporters have been fired for covering sensitive material.

Bob Dietz, the Asia coordinator for the Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists, said Sascii117ndays incidents were 'the worst aggression against the foreign press we have seen since the Olympics in 2008.

'Sascii117ch a heavy-handed response discredits the rascii117ling Chinese Commascii117nist party and highlights their fear of popascii117lar opposition,' he said.

The oascii117tgoing ascii85S ambassador, Jon Hascii117ntsman, has described the harassment and assaascii117lt of joascii117rnalists as 'ascii117nacceptable and deeply distascii117rbing', and the Eascii85 delegation in Beijing ascii117rged Chinese aascii117thorities to hold the perpetrators to accoascii117nt.