A TV journalist was manhandled off camera by a guard while reporting live outside the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony

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A TV journalist was manhandled off camera by a guard while reporting live outside the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony
Sjoerd den Daas was stopped from reporting while live on camera.Twitter/NOS
  • Dutch journalist Sjoerd den Daas was halted by Chinese guards as reported live on air on Friday.
  • He was dragged away while his camera was also blocked as he covered the Olympic opening ceremony.
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A Dutch television reporter was manhandled and stopped from presenting live on air by a Chinese security guard in a incident just outside the Winter Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing on Friday.

Sjoerd den Daas was reporting for Dutch public broadcaster NOS on the opening of the games, standing just outside the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, when he was interrupted by a guard wearing a black coat and a red armband bearing the words "Security Volunteer."

The guard yelled at the reporter as he pulled him away from the camera by the arm.

Den Daas initially continued to report, however was eventually unable to do so as the guard dragged him further away.

"We are now being pulled out of here," said Den Daas. "We have just been expelled from another area, so I'm afraid we'll have to come back to you later."

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Another guard then appeared in front of the camera and seemed to try and stop the cameraman from recording.

In a Twitter post, NOS wrote: "Our correspondent [den Daas] was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12:00 p.m. [6:00 a.m. ET] live in the NOS Journaal.

"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."

It remains unclear why Den Daas was stopped from reporting by the authorities.

Watch the incident unfold here:

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NOS editor-in-chief Marcel Gelauff described the incident as a "a painful illustration" of how foreign press is treated in China.

"Sjoerd has often told and shown that it is difficult as a journalist in China," he told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. "There is a far-reaching tendency to curtail freedoms, and this may be even stronger because of [COVID-19]," said Gelauff.

"I haven't spoken to Sjoerd yet, but from what I saw on the images I didn't get the idea that he was in the way," he added.

Foreign reporters have been subjected to strict protocols during their time in Beijing, including daily PCR testing and the mandatory use of a health-monitoring app.

According to the Colombia Journalism Review, some foreign journalists have been asked by their employers to leave their usual cell phones at home and use burner phones to stop China from tracking their activities.

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The Committee to Protect Journalists also issued similar guidance, advising reporters to create special work email addresses for their time in Beijing, as well as discarding their devices on returning home.

"If you are travelling to Beijing, assume your devices and online activity will be monitored," the organization said. "The more you can do in advance of travel to prepare your accounts and devices, the safer your data will be."

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