Beijing (AsiaNews) – Following global pressure and accusations against the International Olympics Committee (IOC) of colluding with Chinese censors, as of yesterday evening some banned internet sites are now accessible: among them the Chinese page of the BBC, the site of Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily a long standing critic of the Beijing government, Wikipedia and Amnesty international. Other sites linked to the Falung Gong movement or Tibetan resistance remain blocked.  The AsiaNews site also remains inaccessible, even through research engine Google.

The government’s (partial) u-turn is only valid for the Olympic village and press centre.  In other areas of Beijing and throughout China “forbidden” websites remain in the dark.

In recent days many journalists in Beijing have criticised government censorship of sites deemed “overly sensitive” and dangerous from the point of view of state security.  The President of the IOC press commission, Kevan Gosper even revealed that there was an agreement between the IOC and Beijing regarding internet censorship, implicating IOC president Jacques Rogge.

The Foreign Press in China association has demanded that the IOC reveal the terms of the agreement and why the Olympic organisation has consistently and publicly declared that it would guarantee press freedom without any censorship.

Chinese authorities block a multitude of sites (at least 19 thousand), accused of spreading news that could “damage the security of the state” and of “violating Chinese law”.

This morning in Beijing a rare and unique event occurred: President Hu Jintao, who usually avoids all confrontation, held a press conference with foreign journalists, during which he asked them to avoid “politicising the Olympic Games”, and to stick to reporting on the sporting events.