Chinese authorities have blocked access to English-language sites Broadcasting Corporation BBC throughout China. This was reported on the portal of the company. In this case, the reasons for which there was a lock, while not exactly known. BBC Guidelines connects it with the tightening of censorship and media believe that this is happening because of the events in Hong Kong. In addition, a formal occasion could serve video uploaded on the BBC website a few hours before the lock.
“We are experiencing a tightening of censorship in China,” – wrote in his Twitterdirector of BBC Global News Peter Horrocks in Beijing. He said that representatives of the BBC complained to the Chinese authorities. We note that other major news sites are functioning normally.
“BBC strongly condemns any attempt to restrict free access to news and information, – said Horrocks. – BBC provides an impartial, credible news picture of millions of people around the world, and attempts to introduce censorship of our news show how important it is to get accurate information on our” .
Meanwhile, other media suggest that blocking BBC associated with video that is posted in news articles. In this case, it is clear that we are talking about the events in Hong Kong, where the police started to be more active against the demonstrators. In particular, BBC News published a story about the crackdown on protesters, in which the police had acted harshly, beating demonstrators.Edition IBTimes believes that blocking occurred precisely because of the publication of this video. We add that the Hong Kong police have launched a probe in these incidents.
Note that this is not the first lock of the British company in China. For example, this happened in December 2010, when the BBC was actively covering the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Chinese dissident and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who in 2009 was sentenced to 11 years in prison for “inciting subversion of the state system.” The last time the BBC website in English was blocked in April 2012, when illuminated escape from house arrest of activist Chen Guangcheng.
Video from the police beating one of the activists in a dark alley triggered a new wave of protests
In Hong Kong the government quarter in the evening on October 14 renewed clashes participants Occupy Central with law enforcement officials. Against protesters was used pepper gas, some beaten. Especially angered residents of Hong Kong is one of the incidents in which police detained civil society activist, dragged him into a dark alley and beat for a few minutes.
This episode was filmed on camera. Local television station TVB showed footage of a group of police beating demonstrators, and it triggered a new wave of protests – video quickly spread through social networks. Personality beaten already installed – this is Ken Tsang, a social worker and a well-known civic activist. He was detained because he watered police water.
As noted in my story Hong Kong broadcaster ATV World , a man lying on the ground in handcuffs, and about five police officers beat him hands, feet, and round objects, from which on the back of the activist left circular bruises. Video recording is also available on YouTube .
Police leaders promised to thoroughly investigate the excessive use of force on the part of its employees and to punish those responsible.
Protests held in Hong Kong in late September – then proponents of democratization elections blocked business center of Hong Kong. The main requirement of HK protesters is proposed to change the procedure for the election of Beijing chief executive of Hong Kong, which will take place in 2017.
PRC authorities for the first time allowed to provide the right of Hong Kong by popular vote to elect the head of the local administration, provided that the candidates will not be more than 2-3 people and all of them will have to go through the pre-approval process by an electoral college controlled by Beijing.
The demonstrators are opposed to such restrictions in the election process.Protesters demand to allow all candidates to stand for election and to cancel the prior approval of bidders Beijing. In turn, the leaders of the Communist Party of China are concerned that calls for democracy could spread to the mainland.In late September, authorities warned “external forces” to intervene in what is happening.
