By Alice Yan
May 14th, 2005
The prestigious Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University has withdrawn from its role of training Chinese press officials for the 2008 Beijing Olympics after its alumni complained about the lack of press freedom on the mainland.
Nieman Foundation curator Bob Giles said the controversy and continued misunderstanding of the original intentions had put the reputation of the Nieman Fellowship programme at risk, and “it was necessary to act to protect our good name”.
He announced the withdrawal on the foundation’s website on Thursday.
On Monday, the foundation said it would co-sponsor an educational programme for Chinese officials working with foreign media during the Beijing Olympics, with the Fairbank Centre for East Asian Research at Harvard and the Harvard University Asia Centre. The week-long programme was designed to introduce senior officials to the history, traditions and values of a free press in the United States.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the decision to fund the programme was not made by the alumni, which had since voiced its strong opposition.
The State Council Information Office, the mainland government body responsible for arranging the programme for officials, said it had not heard of the foundation’s withdrawal.
