Wen says China to ensure freedom & rights of foreign media

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government would ensure the freedom and rights of foreign media and financial information services after introducing rules giving state-run Xinhua News Agency the power to censor content. „There are a lot of misunderstandings about Chinese government policy,” Wen said in a joint press conference in London with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. „The Chinese government will ensure the freedom and rights of the foreign news media. We hope and we trust that these foreign news media and the financial information providers will also observe the Chinese law and regulations.” Wen said financial information „will flow freely without any obstructions” and that China's „opening policy” towards foreign media „remains unchanged.” Officials have pledged to allow unimpeded access to foreign journalists during the Games, which will showcase two decades of pro-market reforms that helped China's economy grow more than 10-fold to become the world's fourth largest. Bloomberg LP, Reuters Plc and Dow Jones & Co. are among overseas companies that sell news and information to subscribers in China. Xinhua, while acting as the industry regulator, also competes with foreign news services to sell information. (Bloomberg)