Chinese officials halt interview with Guam governor
Chinese foreign ministry officials in Beijing have prevented an Australian journalist from interviewing the Governor of Guam. Radio Australia reporter Tanya O'Shea, who is in the Chinese capital to cover the Olympic Games, says Chinese officials told her they had to be asked in writing for permission to conduct interviews. TANYA O'SHEA: And so I instantly said (to the Guam governor), hello, I'm from Radio Australia, can I please have an interview? As we've been following the shift of the military from Okinawa to Guam, and he jumped at the opportunity. He also wanted to talk about trade, very interested in generating interest in the South Pacific, trading with the north Pacific. So he was really eager and of course he sat down immediately and I did the countdown as we usually do at the top of interviews, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, introducing the Governor, Felix Camacho, and at that point, two minders stepped in and pushed him to one side and said.... He came back and he said to me I'm really sorry, we're going to have to be fast. HILL: And who were these minders again? Were these Chinese officials? O'SHEA: Well, it transpired shortly after that they were foreign affairs officials, Chinese foreign affairs officials. I did know that at that point, as they at that point had not spoken to me. They had only spoken to him and prompted him to be fast. So I said, okay, no worries. He said he would be quick and that we would be able to recap things tomorrow if we missed anything out. So we pursued it and I asked the first question, which was nothing. It was happy to be here at the Beijing Games? And he was just about to answer, and they stopped me and said you don't have permission for this interview, to which I replied, because we had all been briefed. I don't need to seek permission. I only must have the governor's permission to interview him and an individual can give their permission. We don't have to go through any formal process. And they said yes you do, to which I replied, No I don't. And they just said no, the interview has to stop here. And Felix Camacho hung in there and he said no, no, this will be quick. This is about matters to do with Guam. I'm happy to do the interview. And so we tried again and they stepped in again and said I'm sorry you must hurry. So every time we tried to go ahead, they stopped it and said that he has to hurry. You can't do this interview, that sort of stuff. HILL: So, the Governor of Guam wanted to do the interview, you wanted to do the interview. It was perfectly legal, but they actually stopped you. What's your response to this been? O'SHEA: Well, the response was to insist that it was all okay and then to call our liaison here, Stephen MacDonald, whose our correspondent here in Beijing and ask him to speak with them in Chinese. They refused to take the phone call. They refused to look at the guidebook on reporting activities in China. They refused to give me their names. They refused to give me their positions. They would not tell me who they worked for. They made a cordon around the governor and they moved him away and they put the governor into a closed room. HILL: What was the Governor of Guam's response to all this? I mean he wanted to do the interview with you? O'SHEA: He did, he was horrified is the only word I could say and he was acutely embarrassed as well. And I think that he then as he walked past in this group, with this group around him, he said Tanya we will speak tomorrow at the ONOC briefing, the Oceanic National Olympic Committee briefing, and I said yes, we will speak then and the foreign affairs people turned around at that point and said, no, you need to ask permission, you need to put it in writing in Chinese for this interview. The message came back about half an hour later, that the Guam governor was very happy to be interviewed. The Chinese foreign affairs people apologised, and said I could interview the Guam governor if I made an arrangement with them for tomorrow. HILL: With the Chinese? O'SHEA: With the Chinese. HILL: For an Australian journalist to interview the Governor of Guam, you have to ask permission from the Chinese Foreign Ministry? O'SHEA: To make an arrangement with the Chinese. This is not what it says in these reporting guidelines. It's not what's understood to be the case. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200808/s2327743.htm Listen here http://tinyurl.com/5puumm
Chinese foreign ministry officials in Beijing have prevented an Australian journalist from interviewing the Governor of Guam. Radio Australia reporter Tanya O'Shea, who is in the Chinese capital to cover the Olympic Games, says Chinese officials told her they had to be asked in writing for permission to conduct interviews. TANYA O'SHEA: And so I instantly said (to the Guam governor), hello, I'm from Radio Australia, can I please have an interview? As we've been following the shift of the military from Okinawa to Guam, and he jumped at the opportunity. He also wanted to talk about trade, very interested in generating interest in the South Pacific, trading with the north Pacific. So he was really eager and of course he sat down immediately and I did the countdown as we usually do at the top of interviews, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, introducing the Governor, Felix Camacho, and at that point, two minders stepped in and pushed him to one side and said.... He came back and he said to me I'm really sorry, we're going to have to be fast. HILL: And who were these minders again? Were these Chinese officials? O'SHEA: Well, it transpired shortly after that they were foreign affairs officials, Chinese foreign affairs officials. I did know that at that point, as they at that point had not spoken to me. They had only spoken to him and prompted him to be fast. So I said, okay, no worries. He said he would be quick and that we would be able to recap things tomorrow if we missed anything out. So we pursued it and I asked the first question, which was nothing. It was happy to be here at the Beijing Games? And he was just about to answer, and they stopped me and said you don't have permission for this interview, to which I replied, because we had all been briefed. I don't need to seek permission. I only must have the governor's permission to interview him and an individual can give their permission. We don't have to go through any formal process. And they said yes you do, to which I replied, No I don't. And they just said no, the interview has to stop here. And Felix Camacho hung in there and he said no, no, this will be quick. This is about matters to do with Guam. I'm happy to do the interview. And so we tried again and they stepped in again and said I'm sorry you must hurry. So every time we tried to go ahead, they stopped it and said that he has to hurry. You can't do this interview, that sort of stuff. HILL: So, the Governor of Guam wanted to do the interview, you wanted to do the interview. It was perfectly legal, but they actually stopped you. What's your response to this been? O'SHEA: Well, the response was to insist that it was all okay and then to call our liaison here, Stephen MacDonald, whose our correspondent here in Beijing and ask him to speak with them in Chinese. They refused to take the phone call. They refused to look at the guidebook on reporting activities in China. They refused to give me their names. They refused to give me their positions. They would not tell me who they worked for. They made a cordon around the governor and they moved him away and they put the governor into a closed room. HILL: What was the Governor of Guam's response to all this? I mean he wanted to do the interview with you? O'SHEA: He did, he was horrified is the only word I could say and he was acutely embarrassed as well. And I think that he then as he walked past in this group, with this group around him, he said Tanya we will speak tomorrow at the ONOC briefing, the Oceanic National Olympic Committee briefing, and I said yes, we will speak then and the foreign affairs people turned around at that point and said, no, you need to ask permission, you need to put it in writing in Chinese for this interview. The message came back about half an hour later, that the Guam governor was very happy to be interviewed. The Chinese foreign affairs people apologised, and said I could interview the Guam governor if I made an arrangement with them for tomorrow. HILL: With the Chinese? O'SHEA: With the Chinese. HILL: For an Australian journalist to interview the Governor of Guam, you have to ask permission from the Chinese Foreign Ministry? O'SHEA: To make an arrangement with the Chinese. This is not what it says in these reporting guidelines. It's not what's understood to be the case. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200808/s2327743.htm Listen here http://tinyurl.com/5puumm