Reports from the Winter Games: “The control is absolute”

Daily PCR tests, a monitoring app and a narrow radius of movement: ARD correspondent Tamara Anthony explains the circumstances under which she reports on the Winter Games in Beijing.

tagesschau.de: If you want to report on the Olympic Winter Games from Beijing, you have to spend weeks in the so-called bubble. What does that mean?

Tamara Anthony: The so-called bubble is not a self-contained place, but describes various cells that are interconnected in their unity – sports facilities, accommodation, media centers, sometimes far outside of Beijing. Even getting here under corona conditions was a challenge and meant a five-hour drive. Anyone who has been in the country for a longer period of time and how I was able to visit the places beforehand can see what was embellished for the Winter Games, which areas, villages and roads were prepared for the Olympic cameras, where houses were demolished and where trees were planted. One of the aims of our work is to convey this part of the reality surrounding the Winter Games.

tagesschau.de: How strict are the corona requirements around the bubble?

Anthony: I didn’t have to show a Covid test to get into the bubble, but I did have to go through four security checkpoints, which are similar to those at airports. The question arises as to whether these controls are then not primarily used to demonstrate the seclusion of the games. We have a daily PCR test in the bubble and are supposed to wear FFP2 masks everywhere. Disinfectants are available everywhere. Some of the Chinese staff wear full-body protective clothing.

Freedom of movement extremely restricted

tagesschau.de: How freely or restricted can you move and hold conversations in the bubble?

Anthony: My freedom of movement is extremely restricted. When you leave the hotel, you quickly come to a police blockade – and from there I’m no longer allowed to move alone, but only to drive to another hotel, to the media center or one of the venues with specially provided means of transport, which are also part of the bubble . You can get reprimanded just by opening a bus window.

The control is absolute and ensures that I only enter the area that has been marked out beforehand. There is no opportunity here to meet “normal” Chinese who have nothing to do with the games. If you don’t know China, you have no chance of getting an impression of the country.

tagesschau.de: Are telecommunications also monitored?

Anthony: Everyone in the bubble has to download an app called My2022 and regularly enter their body temperature there. However, it was found that the first version of this app had built-in backdoors that are usually used for spyware, i.e. spy programs. According to Chinese information, these backdoors were closed in a second version of the app.

Many National Olympic Committees have therefore given their athletes their own cell phones, and the DOSB has also recommended its athletes to take disposable cell phones with them without justification. That too ARD-Team has its own mobile devices, which are then flattened. In the media center we can access the free Internet – but our Chinese colleagues, such as the translators, cannot do that. This also describes the close monitoring here. The IOC supports that.

“Again and again followed by watchers”

tagesschau.de: Is this a continuation or aggravation of the circumstances under which reports from China could be reported in recent years?

Anthony: Since I’ve been here, the working conditions for journalists have become even more restrictive. Overall, there are fewer foreign journalists because many American colleagues had to leave the country. It seems as if the “watchdogs” have even more time for each individual journalist. Covid measures have always been a good reason for the Chinese government to dictate to journalists what they should and shouldn’t film – or to keep them in a hotel for 24 hours on the pretext of a required test, which of course is only taken by foreign reporters .

We are repeatedly followed by watchdogs who intervene in spontaneous interviews, often with reference to Covid measures. And their mere appearance can cause our interviewee to get scared and run away. Interview partners are often warned in advance by the Chinese police and then cancel us at short notice. This also speaks in favor of close surveillance of our telecommunications. For us, this means that we have to put in significant effort every day to get on the free internet and find protected ways to send our material. This makes our work extremely difficult.

We also always have to think carefully about who we might endanger through our work. The short-term cancellations of interview partners show the pressure they are under.

“Home visits” in absentia

tagesschau.de: Does this apply to the private sector as well? It is reasonable to assume that one takes the feeling of surveillance home with oneself or encounters it there again.

Anthony: I suppose I’m very transparent with the Chinese authorities. A police officer once told me “I know where you live” and then gave me my address. Since I can assume that it is already registered by the state, I took it as an attempt at a threat. I keep hearing reports from people around me that their home was “visited” while they were away. That’s why I didn’t take any special security precautions for my apartment so as not to be under the illusion that my apartment was private.

tagesschau.de: Back to the Winter Games: Can a special Olympic atmosphere arise under the circumstances you have described?

Anthony: The games are already so far away from normal life, they take place behind fences, there are no tickets for the competitions, there is no public viewing either – there can be no euphoria. In addition, winter sports do not play a major role in China. There are almost no winter sports stars. And there is also no civil society that could freely and independently organize meetings, events, celebrations and everything else that normally constitutes a “happening”.

Eckart Aretz, tagesschau.de, asked the questions