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Overseas media cover Urumqi riot

2009-07-09 09:17 BJT

Special Report: 7.5 Xinjiang Urumqi Riots |

According to Wu Nong, an official with the Information Office of the Xinjiang regional government, some 150 reporters from more than 80 media organizations had arrived in Urumqi by Tuesday to cover the riots.

Overseas journalists carrying equipment walk on a street in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 8, 2009.  (Xinhua/Shen Qiao)
Overseas journalists carrying equipment walk on a street in Urumqi, 
capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 
8, 2009.  (Xinhua/Shen Qiao)

A press center has been set up at the Hoi Tak Hotel in downtown Urumqi, where most of the journalists are staying. The press center is also one of the places providing Internet service in the city, as the government has shut down the Web to prevent rioters from organizing online.

"The world is interested in China, and given the scale of violence and the number of casualties, this is a very big story for us and everyone else," Bork said.

An American journalist, who wished to keep himself and his organization anonymous, said that compared with the riots in Lhasa last March, foreign media have more access this time in Urumqi.

"For Lhasa we were not allowed to go there but could only do reporting from afar. This time the Chinese authorities are prompt in giving access to the media and giving press conferences," he said.