Rare protest by Chinese official media against police crackdown on coverage of deadly blast

Beijing: In a rare show of defiance, Chinese media on Thursday protested against the attempts by police to block the coverage of a suspected gas leak explosion at an eatery in the country's north, which killed seven people and injured 27 others.

The blast that rocked a fried chicken shop in Yanjiao township in the city of Sanhe, near Beijing, on Wednesday is suspected to have been caused by a gas leak.

As Chinese official media and foreign journalists rushed to cover the explosion, which killed two people and injured 27 others, they were forcibly prevented by local authorities from the scene, raising a rare controversy over the country’s press restrictions.

A journalist with state broadcaster CCTV was interrupted while reporting live from the scene of the blast. The journalist was seen surrounded by several uniformed police officers who blocked the camera and shouted about the potential danger at the scene, according to a video that circulated online.

The video of the report was no longer available on CCTV’s website as of Thursday, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper reported.

In another video, reporters were seen surrounded by a group of uniformed police officers asking them to leave the scene.

A reporter with state-run China Media Group -- of which CCTV is a division -- was heard saying, “We three reporters are shoved by a dozen people”.

The state-run All China Journalists Association objected to the official crackdown, saying that officials should not “simply and brutally obstruct journalists in the normal performance of their duties for the sake of controlling public opinion”. The association urged officials to make it easier for media to conduct on-site interviews when reporting emergencies.

The police crackdown against media was seen as an attempt by the local officials to downplay the coverage, fearing reprisals as last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered steps to curb occurrences of recurring incidents of building fires due to various causes and protect people's lives and property and social stability.

As the videos of media protests went viral on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, akin to X, local authorities on Thursday issued a statement saying they were “deeply remorseful” and apologised to the journalists, the Post report said.

The media protest against the official crackdown also figured in the Chinese foreign ministry briefing, as many foreign journalists were reportedly prevented from covering the evening.

When questioned on restrictions imposed on journalists, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said local officials have issued a statement on the incident.

China welcomes foreign journalists conducting reporting activities under the law and is willing to facilitate if the media faces any problems, Wang said.

Fire and gas explosions have been taking place almost every month, prompting President Xi to order the concerned agencies to take pre-emptive measures.

Fifteen people were killed and 44 others injured in a building fire in Nanning city in China last month, while 39 were killed and nine others injured in a building fire that broke out in Xinyu city in east China's Jiangxi Province on January 24.

Fatal fires in China are not uncommon due to lax enforcement of building and safety standards.

On January 20, at least 13 students were killed when a fire broke out in a school dormitory in central China's Henan province. All the victims were third-grade students.