China reporters probing bridge disaster "beaten"

By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese journalists probing a bridge collapse that killed dozens of people said they were harassed and beaten by local thugs, exposing the state-run media's see-saw struggle between control and candour.

The reporters were interviewing grieving families of those who died when the near-finished Fenghuang bridge, in the southern province of Hunan, fell into a heap of rubble. By late on Thursday, the number of known dead had reached 41 and was sure to rise as searchers accounted for dozens missing.

State television has trumpeted President Hu Jintao's call for an inquiry into the accident and punishment of anyone culpable. But according to an Internet account backed by reporters involved, media seeking answers found they were far from welcome.

Five reporters, including one from the ruling Communist Party's own People's Daily, were interviewing distraught relatives of the dead when seven or so men burst in, according to China Public Opinion Monitor, a Web site that reports on human rights complaints (www.383983.cn).

"The reporters demanded that they show their identification but were refused, and then suddenly one of the men kicked (People's Daily reporter) Wang Weijian in the stomach," the account said, adding that journalists from the China Youth Daily and Southern Metropolitan Daily were also kicked and punched.

Three journalists who said they were present told Reuters on Friday that the Internet report was accurate, but refused to elaborate, citing government wariness of contact with foreign media. They also asked that their names not be used.

"Read the report and you'll know what happened," one said. "I really don't want to say any more."

Two said they were roughed around for several minutes but did not suffer serious injuries.