Which country jails more journalists than any other country in the world? The clear answer is China.

Freedom of Press is the fundamental guarantee which every democracy must ensure for its people and for the domestic and foreign journalists. Democracy is in fact government by choice and no right choice can be made by the people if options available to them are not known to them. It is the freedom of speech and media which ensures such a debate whereby people get to know their options.

China which is emerging as new economic super power with a phenomenal growth rate and is already a military leader in Asia and is hosting the 2008 Olympics should realize the significance of free media at least for the selfish ends of public relations. The promise of greater freedom for the foreign media are welcome but not enough as the distinctions between “local” and “international media” is an artificial one. Sophie Richardson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch observed:

The Chinese government is already failing to deliver on its pledge to fully lift restrictions for foreign journalists ahead of the Beijing Games.

The hosting of greatest sporting event should be used as an opportunity in improving China’s ranking on the freedom of press index where it is ranked quite low - (159th). The claim to the leadership of the world will remain a weak one in the absence of poor commitment to the civil liberties. Today Internet is one of the most powerful agents of freedom. It exposes truth to those who wish to see and hear it. It is no wonder that some governments rightly fear the Internet and its ability to make the truth known. In any case, since truth can not be concealed any more, the political masters in China who are fully aware of the fact that in a borderless world of internet and blogging, restrictions on the media bring no positive results for any government, must see the new realities of the 21st century. We hope Beijing is listening.