Sjoerd den Daas was dragged off air. Photo / Twitter
Sjoerd den Daas was dragged off air. Photo / Twitter
A Dutch reporter covering the Winter Olympics in Beijing was dragged off air by a Chinese guard during a live cross outside the Games' Opening Ceremony on Friday night.
Standing outside the Chinese National Stadium, Dutch outlet NOS Nieuws' Sjoerd den Daas was reporting live when a man wearing a "security volunteer" armband stepped in front of the shot and dragged the reporter away.
He tried to finish his report while being grabbed, pushed, and yelled at by the red armband-wearing guard.
"We are now being pulled out of here," Den Daas said according to Insider. "We have just been expelled from another area, so I'm afraid we'll have to come back to you later."
The network then cut away from the shot and returned to the studio anchor, a clip from the Friday broadcast showed.
Later the outlet took to Twitter to share a statement on the drama.
"Our correspondent @sjoerddendaas was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12.00pm live in the NOS Journaal.
"Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming a daily reality for journalists in China. He is fine and was able to finish his story a few minutes later," the outlet tweeted in Dutch.
It was not immediately apparent why den Daas was being accosted by the guard as he filed his report outside Bird's Nest stadium.
There is still no news on what led to the drama.
But IOC spokesman Mark Adams said he believed it was a "one-off".
"Obviously we have been in touch with the NOS, the state broadcaster, and it was an unfortunate circumstance," Adams said via Channel News Asia.
"I think someone was being overzealous. He (the reporter) was able to, very quickly afterwards with the help of officials there, do his piece to camera.
"These things do happen and I think it's a one-off. I hope it's a one-off and we will assure you that within the closed loop you will be able to carry on your work.
However, NOS editor-in-chief Marcel Gelauff came out strongly in Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad that it was "a painful illustration" of the lack of press freedom in China.
"Sjoerd has often told and shown that it is difficult as a journalist in China," he told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. "There is a far-reaching tendency to curtail freedoms, and this may be even stronger because of [COVID-19]," said Gelauff.
"I haven't spoken to Sjoerd yet, but from what I saw on the images I didn't get the idea that he was in the way."
It comes after reports that reporters and athletes have been warned to use burner phones to stop China from tracking their activities and create special work emails for the competition due to bugging fears.
Widespread human rights violations and mistreatment of Chinese athletes have cast a pall over the 2022 winter games.
The Peng Shuai drama has already come to the fore as Chinese officials were grilled over her apparent disappearance from the public eye after airing sexual assault allegations against a high-ranking Chinese politician, which she has since retracted.
At least four countries including the US, Australia, Canada and the UK have announced diplomatic boycotts.
International athletes have also reportedly been ordered by officials not to talk about China's aggression, oppression or human rights abuses during the games.
Communist rules also banned fans and athletes from cheering and prohibited overseas spectators.
