Chinese protest against biased BBC coverage

LONDON - Hundreds of Chinese students held demonstrations in two British cities Saturday protesting at how media outlets including the BBC have covered the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.
More than 1,000 people, mainly students, gathered outside the BBC’s offices in Manchester, north-west England, while around 300 staged a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in London.
Protestors in Manchester were holding a two-hour silent vigil before reading out an open letter to BBC director-general Mark Thompson accusing the broadcaster of “tarnishing and demonising China”.
In both cities, they expressed concern about how the media had covered the Olympic torch relay as well as last month’s unrest in Tibet.
“I was in London...during the torch relay on the 6th of April and we saw thousands of students coming from all over the UK just to support the torch relay and were really excited about that,” London protestor Becky Qin told BBC television.
“But when I went back to Cambridge and saw the recorded version of BBC News 24, we were disappointed to see nothing about the supporting groups at all.
“It was as if the torch was just struggling its way through London and it was all about how people were so resentful about it”.
She also said the broadcaster had provided “blurry numbers” about how many people had died in Tibet.
In Manchester, organiser Tian Yang said: “The way they frame the story is biased. There is only one side of the story. They take their views from Tibetan government and the Western petitions.”
The business student, who is studying on an exchange from Manchester to Shanghai, added: “We feel that through this biased reporting in the news, it will generate racist prejudice and hostility in the West.”
Organisers said they were not affiliated to any government or organisation.
The BBC defended its coverage in a statement, saying: “Despite restrictions placed on journalists, our coverage of Tibet has been extensive, fair and balanced.
“The same is true of our reporting of the Olympic torch relay and the protests that have accompanied it.”
The Olympic torch’s parade around the world ahead of the games, which start in August, has been hit by repeated demonstrations by protestors concerned about China’s human rights record.
In London, 37 people who tried to disrupt the procession were arrested, whilst in Paris the Olympic torch was repeatedly extinguished.
Violence broke out in Tibet’s capital Lhasa on March 14 following four days of peaceful protests against Chinese rule.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people have died in the subsequent government crackdown, while China says Tibetan “rioters” have killed 18 civilians and two policemen.