China Eases Internet Restrictions for Journalists

Access to sites the government normally blocks expanded throughout the day Friday. The first sites unblocked included those of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Radio Free Asia and the Chinese language service of the BBC. By early evening, reporters at the press center could read about topics that have long been taboo here: Taiwanese independence, jailed Chinese dissidents, and the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. Other sites, particularly those that mention Falun Gong, the banned spiritual movement, remained off limits.