A Dutch reporter made international headlines this week after he was dragged away by security guards during a live news broadcast for NOS, the Dutch state broadcaster, about the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
The incident happened on Friday, February 4th (link to video). Journalist Sjoerd den Daas was doing a live broadcast outside Beijing’s National Stadium for NOS (Dutch Broadcasting Foundation) covering the Olympics when he was pushed away from the camera by a local security volunteer.
The moment the guard steps up to Den Daas and his cameraman, he says: “Let’s move, brothers” (“咱们往前走哥儿们”). Den Daas then says: “Wait, I’m in the middle of a broadcast.” The guard continues to say: “You’re not allowed to stay in this spot,” and pulls Den Daas away. As the guard made it impossible for Den Daas to continue, the broadcaster cut away from the shot and returned to the studio anchor.
The NOS broadcaster later posted about the issue on Twitter, writing:
“Our correspondent @sjoerddendaas was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12.00 pm live in the NOS News Bulletin. 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.”
The editor-in-chief of NOS News, Marcel Gelauf, stated that the incident is “a painful example of the current state of press freedom in China. Don’t touch journalists.”
On Twitter, some suggested that the reporters were forcibly removed by Chinese officials because the background of the broadcast wasn’t “flattering enough.” Author Andy Ngo said that “the incident illustrates the tight control Beijing has on journalists.”
On February 5th, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also responded1 to the incident, calling it an “isolated event” which “will not affect foreign media’s reporting at the Beijing Games.”
“Deliberately Provocative”
After the incident, various Chinese media condemned the reporter and the Dutch broadcaster. The nationalistic Chinese online media outlet Guancha News (观察者网) posted a video of the incident on Weibo, writing:
“‘Look at the sweat on my head.’ Last night at 8 pm, when the entire world was following the opening ceremony of the Olympics, a Beijing security guard was working hard, politely asking a Dutch reporter who had entered a temporarily restricted area to leave. But this reporter not only failed to show his identity papers, but he was also disrespectful to the security staff and even made a “performance” all by himself. The Dutch news outlet NOS, for which the journalist works, also issued an online post smearing the Chinese security personnel for “interfering” with the journalist’s work. So, we must expose their faces!“
In the Gengzhi Ge (耿直哥) column2, the Chinese-language state newspaper Global Times criticized the NOS for reiterating Western media clichés about Chinese interference with journalists when writing that these kinds of events are a “daily reality for journalists in China.”
They also said the Dutch media was being “deliberately provocative”3 by entering a “controlled area,” with the Dutch journalist and cameraman allegedly failing to show their ID when confronted by security staff and further “inflaming the situation.”
The Global Times claims that the intersection where the Dutch media was standing during their live broadcast was already marked as a limited access area since February 3rd, and was only accessible to vehicles and pedestrians with special documents for the opening ceremony.
Global Times writes that the area where the Dutch crew was filming was marked as a restricted access area.
A map marking the area where the Dutch reporter was standing during the incident as a temporarily controlled area.
When the Dutch media continued to report without showing proof that they were allowed to operate in this controlled area, the security staff reportedly went up to them and asked them to leave. The reporter then went on to do his live broadcast, which is the moment that went viral. As the guard tells the reporters that they need to move and tells them they can’t be in this spot, he also can be heard saying “Look at my sweaty head!” (“瞅我这一脑袋汗”), as the guard indeed seems to break out in a sweat and starts pulling the reporter away to get him out of the restricted area. Den Daas then can be heard saying: “What are you doing?!”
According to Gengzhi Ge, the Dutch NOS reporter and camera crew can only be blamed for this incident themselves by accessing an area they should not have accessed without the right papers, failing to show their ID, not properly communicating, not following security orders and not showing respect to the local guards.
The author also argues that the very fact that the NOS themselves tweeted that their reporter was fine and was able to finish the interview just minutes later shows that the security staff was not interfering with their work at all, concluding: “For some arrogant and ignorant Western media, isn’t it easier to slander and discredit others rather than admitting they are at fault themselves?”
Popular law blogger Han Dongyan (@韩东言), who has over 2.2 million followers on Weibo, called the Dutch reporter a “drama queen,” with other Weibo users referring to Den Daas as a ‘pengci‘ – a term that literally means ‘porcelain bumping’ and refers to people who pretend to be injured or hurt for their own benefit.
“They just used this as an excuse to make a fuss,” other Weibo commenters say, also writing: “They’re discrediting China by misrepresenting the facts.”
Although several Weibo users labeled the journalist as ‘Dutch trash’, there were also those who praised his Chinese speaking skills.
On February 5th, Sjoerd den Daas posted about the incident on his Twitter account. According to the Dutch reporter, he did follow police orders regarding the area where they were allowed to film. He claims that, just after going live, he was “forcefully pulled out of the picture without any warning” and that the man who dragged him away, a plainclothes man wearing a “Public Safety Volunteer” badge, did not identify himself.
Den Daas writes that it was not properly explained to him what they had done wrong. They were able to continue their interview from a parking lot around the corner.
He also adds: “In recent weeks, we, like several foreign colleagues, have been hindered or stopped several times by the police while reporting on subjects related to the Games. Therefore, it’s hard to see last night’s incident as an isolated incident, as the IOC claims, although such interference rarely happens live on broadcast.”
By Manya Koetse
With contributions by Miranda Barnes.
1Although the IOC spokesperson claimed they had been in touch with the NOS, the Dutch broadcaster said there had been no contact with the IOC at all.
2 Gengzhi Ge (耿直哥), meaning “Honest Brother,” is a Global Times column by Gao Lei (高雷, 1985).
3 “无理取闹” wú lǐ qǔ nào: “vexatious,” “to make trouble without reason.”
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