TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Photographers from two Taiwan media did not receive press passes for the opening of the Asian Games in the Chinese city of Hangzhou Saturday (Sept. 23) evening.
Taiwan’s Sports Administration said photographers from news website ETtoday and from the Liberty Times had been informed they would not receive press passes. However, other reporters from the same media were allowed to cover the event.
The organizing committee failed to give an explanation for the refusal, while the Sports Administration said contacts would continue to clear up the situation, CNA reported. The Olympic Committees of each nation used to be in charge of distributing press credentials, but this time, the organizing body demanded real-name registration before handing out the press passes itself.
When organizers in Hangzhou made the announcement Saturday morning of who would receive the passes, the two Taiwanese media were the only ones who were rejected. The Sports Administration said it hoped the Asian Games could return to being a pure sporting event, without political interference.
Taiwanese media reportedly became the target of a similar incident at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. The Apple Daily initially did not receive the approval to cover the event, but the organizers later changed their mind. However, its reporter was forced to stay at a hotel away from the Games’ media village, per CNA.
