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CNN segment apparently blocked in China
2007-03-10
China on Saturday apparently blacked out parts of a CNN interview with Hong Kong's leader when he began discussing moves toward democratic reform in the territory. During CNN's "Talk Asia" program, Donald Tsang was talking about his plans to consult the Hong Kong public on how to bring universal suffrage to the territory, which is ruled by China but has a wide degree of autonomy. He said he was eager to address the democracy issue if he wins a second term as chief executive of Hong Kong later this month. The show then abruptly went to commercials, after which the screen blacked out momentarily. When the show resumed, Tsang was speaking about his relationship with Beijing state leaders. A CNN spokeswoman in Hong Kong said she was not aware that parts of Tsang's interview were blocked but the station was looking into it. The spokeswoman did not give her name, per company policy. The show will be broadcast again as scheduled over the weekend, she added. China restricts foreign television channels such as CNN and the British Broadcasting Corp.'s BBC World to hotels and apartment buildings where foreigners live. Officials monitor the signals and routinely black out broadcasts on sensitive topics. Tsang, a career civil servant, is widely expected to win another term on March 25 because he is seen as Beijing's preferred candidate. His opponent, pro-democracy lawmaker Alan Leong, has accused him of reluctance to confront Beijing on democratic reform issues. When the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it was promised a wide degree of autonomy under a "one country, two systems" formula. Beijing also said it would eventually become fully democratic, but the Communist leadership has not said when Hong Kong could directly vote for its leader and full legislature. Tsang was picked as chief executive in 2005 by an 800-seat election committee stacked with Beijing loyalists. In the run-up to this year's election, he has pledged to launch a public consultation about democratic reforms later this year. Discussing his relationship with China's leaders, Tsang said President Hu Jintao showed great interest in the development of Hong Kong affairs. "There is enormous warmth, rapport and affection from him for Hong Kong as a whole, particularly for the people of Hong Kong," he said. But Tsang declined to comment when asked whether he has had any disagreements with Hu.
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