BEIJING, Dec 2, 2008 (AFP) - China said it has ordered an investigation into an attack on a Belgian television crew who were making a documentary about AIDS victims, state media reported.
The three-member crew from VRT, a radio and TV station, was attacked last Thursday in Henan province, Belgian journalist Tom Van de Weghe told AFP previously, in a case highlighting the risks foreign reporters face covering touchy issues in China.
Cases of hindered foreign reporting are common in China and the government rarely comments on them.
But a Henan provincial spokesman has confirmed the Belgian crew "got into a conflict with villagers and officials in the city of Shangqiu," Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday.
Investigators have been sent to the area to find out what happened, spokesman Wang Yuejin was quoted as saying.
Van de Weghe told AFP how he, an Australian cameraman and a Belgian assistant were set upon by eight men who forced them out of their vehicle.
"It was dark, we were hit many times, sometimes violently. They acted like animals," he said, adding they had been followed all day by two cars.
They eventually escaped to the local airport but only after their attackers took videotapes, money and other possessions, he said.
Henan residents told the VRT crew the attackers were acting for local officials.
The Henan spokesman said four AIDS patients and local officials had demanded the crew's tapes and memory cards out of fear the documentary could "affect their public image," Xinhua said.
The crew was working on a report on AIDS in Henan, where in the 1990s thousands of peasants were infected after selling their blood in a scheme organised by local civil servants who, keen to make money quickly, hadn't put in place the correct medical precautions.
China had previously tried to cover up the blood-selling fiasco and the issue remains highly sensitive.
The incident comes amid tension with Europe over plans by French President Nicholas Sarkozy -- who holds the rotating EU presidency -- to meet the Dalai Lama this weekend.
China pulled out of a summit with Europe set for this week over Sarkozy's planned audience with the Tibetan spiritual leader.
081202
AF081213
Copyright ©AFP 2008. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Gill Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Quest Diagnostics, Roche and Trimeris, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.