Beijing, March 4. The annual session of the Chinese Legislative Assembly (National People’s Congress), the most important political event of the year in the Asian country, opens this Sunday in Beijing under anti-covid measures and with a presence limited number of journalists.
To cover the events, journalists will have to quarantine in a hotel designated by the organization since the day before, despite the fact that China has already all but dismantled the “zero covid” policy it has maintained for nearly three years.
In addition, journalists will have to submit to a PCR test the day before their coverage, which contrasts with the withdrawal two months ago of routine PCR testing requirements for the population to access all public places, which were part of of ‘zero covid’. policy for much of 2022.
The preventive measures for the conclave, which will end on March 13, are similar to those put in place during legislative meetings in recent years and the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (ruling CPC), held last October.
Similarly, several European journalists have not received authorization to attend the inauguration which will take place this Sunday in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing despite having accreditation, denounced certain reporters based in the Chinese capital.
The situation contrasts with the presence of several dozen reporters who came from other countries on purpose to cover the event and who traveled to the Asian country invited by the authorities and in some cases all expenses paid.
The growth target for the next financial year after the dismantling of “covid zero”, the appointment of a new Prime Minister or the foreign policy slogans after the latest skirmishes with the United States will be some of the subjects that will hold the attention to event politics. .
This week, the Foreign Press Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) said in a report that foreign correspondents in China will face more reporting restrictions in 2022 due to the strict “covid zero” policy. .
The club also denounced the “harassment” of foreign journalists during the Winter Olympics, which took place in February 2022.
Regarding the latter, the club assures that many accredited media ultimately did not have access to any of the events they wanted to cover. ECE
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