Chinese Security Goons Drag Dutch Reporter Sjoerd den Daas Away on Live TV at Beijing Games Opening Ceremony
The Beijing Winter Olympics are officially underway—but, before the Opening Ceremony even finished on Friday, Chinese authorities proved to the world once again that it won’t tolerate any kind of free press.
In an extraordinary clip from Dutch broadcaster NOS, one of its reporters who is in Beijing to cover the Games can be seen being manhandled by a security guard sporting a red armband. The reporter, Sjoerd den Daas, attempted to carry on his broadcast while being grabbed and yelled at by the guard, then NOS decided to cut away back to the studio.
In a post, NOS wrote: “Our correspondent [den Daas] was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12:00 pm live in the NOS Journaal. Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming a daily reality for journalists in China. He is fine and was able to finish his story a few minutes later.”