China media freedoms in limbo as Olympic rules end

China was silent on media freedom on Friday, the expiry date of special Olympic regulations that had officially allowed foreign journalists to report freely in most of the country for nearly two years. Local governments across China, which once had to approve any visit by overseas correspondents to their regions, said they would still follow the temporary rules in the short term. As part of Beijing's bid to host the August Games, it promised to allow complete media freedom and although the state's grip over domestic media did not ease it did relax controls on foreign correspondents. There were problems with access to restive Tibet and some controversial sites were blocked at the start of the Games, but the regulations made it easier to report on many things, from windfarms to dissidents. Rights groups and the Foreign Correspondents Club of China, while welcoming the greater openness, have repeatedly expressed concern about ongoing harassment of reporters and those they interview, especially on sensitive topics like protests.