Winter Olympics reporter dragged away by Chinese security during live broadcast
Dutch reporter taken by security during Winter Olympics
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Dramatic footage showed a Dutch TV reporter being pulled away by Chinese security at the Winter Olympics. Journalist Sjoerd den Daas was in the middle of a live news broadcast covering the opening ceremony in Beijing when an official donning a red armband appeared in the shot.
Despite efforts by the Dutchman to continue doing his job, the security guard proceeded to grab and pull the reporter away before the station was forced to cut back to the studio, bringing the broadcast to an abrupt end.
Amid the scuffle, Mr den Daas says: “You can tell we are being removed!
“We have been removed from a different location before.
“So I fear we will have to come back to you at a later point!”
Dutch channel NOS, whom Den Daas was working for, released a statement on Twitter regarding the incident.
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“Our correspondent was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12.00pm live in the NOS Journaal,” they wrote.
“Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming a daily reality for journalists in China. He is fine and was able to finish his story minutes later.”
An NOS spokesperson added that there had been no direct line of communication between them or the International Olympic Committee since the incident took place.
“Neither NOS management, nor the chief editors of news and sport, our Olympic team leadership in Beijing, or our correspondent himself has spoken to anyone from the IOC about the incident,” they said.
But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said they have been in diaglogue with NOS, and described the incident as “unfortunate”.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “Obviously, we have been in touch with the NOS, the state broadcaster, and it was an unfortunate circumstance.
“I think someone was being overzealous. He [the reporter] was able to, very quickly afterwards, with the help of officials there, do his piece to camera.
“I hope it’s a one-off and we will assure you that within the closed loop you will be able to carry on your work.”
Foreign media out in Beijing covering the Winter Olympics are subject to draconian measures, such as compulsory use of a health-monitoring app and daily PCR testing to ensure there are no Covid outbreaks.
The Beijing 2022 Games officially got underway on Friday with a colourful opening ceremony, despite the curling event kicking off before that.
As things stand, Great Britain are yet to win a medal in the Chinese capital, but they are are vying for as many as seven in the events of bobsleigh, curling and snowboarding.
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