IFJ Condemns China Attack on Belgian TV Crew

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called for a full investigation by Chinese authorities after a Belgian television reporter and his team were harassed and beaten up by local officials while trying to film a report on the AIDS crisis.

Journalist Tom Van De Weghe and his broadcast crew working for VRT, the Flemish public broadcast network, were working in the Shanqui district of Henan province last week when they were targeted by local officials who physically assaulted them, confiscated material and ordered them out of the area.

"This correspondent, together with his cameraman and his assistant, were victims of a lawless attack," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "The Chinese authorities must investigate the incidents and ensure those responsible are brought to justice."  The IFJ says that the attack flies in the face of new media rules which give foreign reporters the right to talk to Chinese citizens.

The incidents occurred as the crew visited Henan for a report on AIDS, in connection with World Aids Day.  Some one million patients in the region contracted  HIV infection by selling their own blood.

Van De Weghe and his crew had set up appointments with some NGOs that take care of Aids orphans.  When they arrived they found the local NGO workers were formally forbidden to speak to them and the director of an orphanage they planned to visit was placed under house arrest. 

" Nevertheless some NGO workers did cooperate," said Van De Weghe, "They took care of arranging transportation and a guide, a woman who herself is an AIDS patient."

However, the crew was shadowed during the visit by two armoured vans. After an interview with an AIDS patient, they were stopped on the road. Ten men appeared and surrounded their car demanding that they hand over the interview tape. They then opened the boot and took 10 empty tapes. 

They told the crew who protested that they were acting outside the law: ‘Here in Henan we are the law and we will break every bone in your body if you stay in Henan.'   Later on their way to the airport they were attacked by the same group. Van De Weghe was punched in the head, his cameraman hit in the face and his assistant suffered blows to the chest. Their luggage was ransacked and personal cash and some camera equipment stolen. The attackers then ordered the driver to take them to the airport where they caught a flight to Beijing.    

For more information contact the IFJ at +32 2 235 2207

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide