(BEIJING, May 9) -- To facilitate foreign media organizations and foreign journalists to report on the Beijing Olympic Games, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) has compiled and officially published today the "Service Guide for Foreign Media Coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period" (the Guide).

Download the Guide (.PDF): The Chinese Version    The English Version

The publishing of the Guide is the further and concrete efforts made by the Chinese Government and BOCOG to facilitate foreign media organizations and foreign journalists to report on the Beijing Olympic Games after the promulgation of the "Regulations On Reporting Activities in China by Foreign Journalists During the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period" which officially takes into force as of on January 1, 2007.

The Guide covers such a dozen matters as visa application, customs clearance, travel and interview, employment of Chinese mainland citizens, rental of housing and offices, application for radio frequency occupation, acquisition of a temporary driving permit, taxation and insurance with which accredited media organizations for the Beijing Olympic Games , including rights-holding broadcasters, accredited written and photographic press, as well as non-accredited media are generally concerned for the coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games. The Guide has done its best to give client-oriented interpretations to every section and detailed step by step explanation to the procedures to satisfy the needs of the media.

In addition, the Guide has announced "One-stop" service mechanism for the international media to help them solve any problems that may occur during their coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games. It is an all-round 24-hour service mechanism provided by the Beijing Olympic Media Center, which coordinates different departments of the Chinese Government to grant permits and deliver services to all the media organizations and help them solve any problems.

The compilation and publishing of the Guide show BOCOG's sincere desire to provide a convenient and friendly working environment for foreign media organizations in their coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games. The purpose to publish the Guide is to provide a brief and clear interpretation and explanation on issues concerning laws and policies for media on their working conditions and simultaneously provide easy-to-operate assistance information on relevant procedures.

The electronic version of the Guide has now been published in the official web-site of BOCOG, to be followed soon by a paper-printed version which will be distributed to media organizations.

To download the full text of the Guide, please log in the following web-site: http://en.beijing2008.cn/upload/Service_Guide_en.pdf.

It is also noted that "Service Guide for Hong Kong/Macao Media Coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period" and "Service Guide for Taiwan Media Coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period" ,which facilitate Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan media to report the Beijing Olympic Games, will be available very soon.