IOC satisfied after final meeting

BEIJING—International Olympic Committee inspectors said Thursday that they were satisfied by Chinese organizers’ assurances that operations in critical areas will run smoothly in the Summer Olympics.
With the Games just four months away, the inspectors — know as the coordination commission — completed their final official meetings with Beijing organizers. They said they were assured of smooth operations for Internet access, live television broadcasts and contingency plans to deal with the Beijing’s air pollution. “We were satisfied by assurances we received across a number of areas,” Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the inspection team, said in a statement. He did not offer details but was scheduled to hold a news conference later Thursday.
Earlier this week, a high-ranking IOC official said Chinese officials had been told that Internet censorship had to be lifted for thousands of journalists covering the games. About 30,000 accredited and non-accredited reporters are expected to report on the games. Kevan Gosper, vice chairman of the coordinating commission, said restricting access to the Internet during the games “would reflect very poorly” on the host nation.
Beijing routinely blocks Chinese access to some foreign news Web sites and blogs, a practice it has stepped up since rioting broke out in Tibet in mid-march. Laws that lifted many restrictions on foreign media went into effect Jan. 1, 2007. That is due to expire in October.
Broadcasters have been lobbying against plans by Chinese officials that might bar live television broadcasts from Tiananmen Square. Any ban on live broadcasts would disrupt the plans of NBC and other major international networks, who have paid hundreds of millions of dollars for the rights to the games. China routinely uses 30-second to one-minute delays to control broadcasts seen on state-run TV. The Olympic torch lighting ceremony last month in Greece was disrupted by a protester who ran up behind a top Chinese official giving a speech. The image seen around the world was never shown on state TV in China.
Monday’s torch arrival in Tiananmen Square was also broadcast on a delay. IOC officials have acknowledged that outdoor endurance events of more than an hour could offer a small health risk to athletes. IOC President Jacques Rogge began saying seven months ago that events would be postponed if the air quality were poor. Last month the IOC’s top medical officer said Beijing’s air quality was better than expected. A study the IOC approved showed there are risks to athletes in outdoor endurance events and conditions may be less than ideal during the Aug. 8-24 period.—Agencies