China Barring German Newspapers from Olympic Village

(Beijing, China) It's not clear what kind of threat is posed by German newspapers or by Germans reading German newspapers in the Olympic Village.

As part of their attempt to keep a stranglehold on information during the Summer Games in Beijing, the Chinese authorities are reportedly planning to ban German newspapers from the Deutsches Haus in the Olympic Village.

The German Olympic Association (DOSB) said on Friday that it was negotiating with Chinese officials over the matter. “The talks are continuing,” DOSB spokesman Gerd Graus told German news agency DDP in Beijing.

The only reason I can think of is that the Chinese communists want to suppress or restrict the free flow of information to the maximum extent achievable while trying to maintain an image of openness.