“We’re getting dragged away here at the moment, as you see,” the reporter can be heard saying.
Footage has gone viral of a Dutch reporter being dragged away by a Chinese security official while giving a live report on the Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing on Friday (4 February).
In the footage, a reporter for Dutch outlet Nos, Sjoerd den Daas, is seen standing close by to the Bird’s Nest stadium in the capital.
Before den Daas is given a chance to answer a question asked by the Nos studio anchor, a Chinese official approaches him telling him to “please move forward”.
After the reporter asks the official to “please wait”, the official responds: “Go. This place does not allow [you to stay],” and pulls away den Daas while other security officials gather around him.
“We’re getting dragged away here at the moment, as you see,” the reporter says in the video.
“We were also sent away from another spot just before so I fear I’ll have to get back to you later on.”
He is then heard asking the officials what the problem is.
In a statement posted to Twitter after the incident, Nos said:
“Our correspondent Sjoerd den Daas was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12.00pm live on the NOS News.
“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”
You can watch footage of the incident below.
Onze correspondent @sjoerddendaas werd om 12.00u live in het NOS Journaal door beveiligers voor de camera weggetrokken. Helaas is dit steeds vaker de dagelijkse realiteit voor journalisten in China. Hij is in orde en kon zijn verhaal gelukkig een paar minuten later afmaken pic.twitter.com/GLTZRlZV96
— NOS (@NOS) February 4, 2022
It comes as media, along with participants, at the Olympics are restricted to a closed-loop system during the entirety of the Games, which includes accommodations, the media centre and venues.
This is part of measures to minimise the risk of any Covid spread.
In a statement to Reuters, an International Olympic Committee spokesperson said they believed the “unfortunate” event to be a “one-off”.
“I think someone was being overzealous. [The reporter] was able to, very quickly afterwards with the help of officials there, do his piece to camera,” the spokesperson added.
Main image via Nos/Twitter
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