Foreign Reporter Disappears During Live Olympic Broadcast in China... IOC Says "Regrettable but Isolated Incident"

At the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which began on the 4th, a foreign reporter who was broadcasting live was suddenly pulled out by Chinese security personnel.
[Photo by NOS, the Dutch public broadcaster, YouTube capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Sumi Hwang] A controversy has arisen after a Chinese security officer suddenly pulled out a foreign reporter who was live broadcasting at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which opened on the 4th.

According to major foreign media on the 5th (local time), Sjoerd den Daas, the Greater China correspondent for the Dutch public broadcaster NOS, attempted a live broadcast outside the Beijing National Stadium where the Olympic opening ceremony was held the previous night.

As the reporter began reporting holding a microphone, a man wearing a red armband suddenly appeared in front of the camera, shouted in Chinese without warning, grabbed the reporter with both arms, and pulled him off the screen.

The reporter tried to continue the report while being pushed away. However, the broadcast was eventually cut off, and the anchor watching from the NOS studio in the Netherlands appeared flustered.

This scene was captured on camera and broadcasted, spreading worldwide through social media. Den Daas was able to resume the opening ceremony coverage only a few minutes later.

The Chinese man is known to be a volunteer security officer at the scene. While the exact reason why this security officer interrupted the live broadcast has not been revealed, various speculations have emerged. There are eyewitness accounts that the security officer intervened because the background during the live broadcast showed a dark street instead of the splendid Olympic stadium.

Den Daas explained the situation on his Twitter account, saying, "We were filming around the National Stadium just before 7 p.m., but the police asked us to leave as the area was closed off," adding, "We complied and were preparing for the live broadcast when the police again told us to move to the end of the closed road."

He said, "Immediately after, a person in plain clothes wearing a red badge that said 'Volunteer for Public Safety' forcibly pulled me off the screen without prior warning," adding, "He did not identify himself and seemed very stressed."

He continued, "Someone else stole our lighting equipment, but they did not clearly explain what we had done wrong," and added, "The live broadcast was later able to continue around the corner in a parking lot."

NOS expressed regret through its Twitter account that day. NOS stated, "Our correspondent was pulled away by a security officer in front of the camera," and added, "Unfortunately, such incidents are becoming increasingly common for journalists in China."

As the controversy grew, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued an explanation the next day. An IOC spokesperson said on the 5th, "It was an unfortunate situation. It seems someone was overly enthusiastic, but the reporter was able to continue the coverage shortly after," and added, "This was an isolated incident and will not affect foreign journalists covering the Beijing Olympics."

On the other hand, Chinese media such as Guancha.cn and Global Times claimed on Weibo (China's version of Twitter) that "while the world’s attention is focused on the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, the Dutch reporter entered a temporarily controlled area."

They further stated, "The security officer politely persuaded him, but the reporter did not prove his identity," and accused the reporter of disrespecting the security officer. They also criticized NOS, saying, "They posted content online defaming Chinese security officers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.