Beijing - A television crew from Germany's ARD was attacked in China by thugs who tried to force their car off the road and smashed the windscreen, the lead reporter said on Friday.
ARD was filming for a report on urbanisation in Da Yan Ge Zhuang village near Sanhe city in the northern province of Hebei when the crew was attacked on Wednesday, ARD correspondent Christine Adelhardt told dpa.
"After taking outside shots of old and new houses in the village, the team was followed by cars," said Adelhardt, who was accompanied by two German colleagues and two Chinese colleagues.
"Four to five cars chased the car of ARD," she said. "They tried to cause an accident."
After the pursuing cars forced the ARD vehicle to stop, several men surrounded the vehicle and tried to open the doors, Adelhardt said.
"They hammered against the windows, first just with their fists," she said.
"We managed to escape, [but] during the chase they intentionally crashed into our car," Adelhardt said.
Baseball bats
"They stopped us again and used baseball bats to smash the front window," she said.
The ARD crew drove off again, with the cars in pursuit, before stopping to ask traffic police for help.
"Again the attackers started smashing the car with their baseball bats," Adelhardt said. "More police showed up and stopped the attackers."
The police took the ARD team to the Sanhe city police station, where they were forced to stay for 16 hours as the police investigated.
The Beijing-based Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said it was "appalled" by the "brutal assault on a German TV crew by thugs apparently linked to local authorities".
ARD was filming for a report on urbanisation in Da Yan Ge Zhuang village near Sanhe city in the northern province of Hebei when the crew was attacked on Wednesday, ARD correspondent Christine Adelhardt told dpa.
"After taking outside shots of old and new houses in the village, the team was followed by cars," said Adelhardt, who was accompanied by two German colleagues and two Chinese colleagues.
"Four to five cars chased the car of ARD," she said. "They tried to cause an accident."
After the pursuing cars forced the ARD vehicle to stop, several men surrounded the vehicle and tried to open the doors, Adelhardt said.
"They hammered against the windows, first just with their fists," she said.
"We managed to escape, [but] during the chase they intentionally crashed into our car," Adelhardt said.
Baseball bats
"They stopped us again and used baseball bats to smash the front window," she said.
The ARD crew drove off again, with the cars in pursuit, before stopping to ask traffic police for help.
"Again the attackers started smashing the car with their baseball bats," Adelhardt said. "More police showed up and stopped the attackers."
The police took the ARD team to the Sanhe city police station, where they were forced to stay for 16 hours as the police investigated.
The Beijing-based Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said it was "appalled" by the "brutal assault on a German TV crew by thugs apparently linked to local authorities".
Attempted Homicide of German TV Crew in China
Created: 2013-03-01 12:09 EST
Category: China
German television ARD crews were attacked during a report in China’s Hebei province on Wednesday.
A smashed windshield and dented side doors. This is the van belonging to a crew of German television ARD. They were attacked on Wednesday (February 27) in northern China when they tried to do a report about urbanization in Hebei province.
On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said authorities were looking into it.
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China, or FCCC, have condemdned the attack. They said ARD’s crew was reporting in a village and as they drove away, four cars chased them. Their attackers forced them off the road. Two men with baseball bats smashed their windshield. The German crew got away and found two motorbike police, but the pursuers continued to attack the car even in the presences of police.
ARD correspondent Christine Adelhardt said they tried to file attempted homicide charges against their assailants. Police claimed the charges had already been filed.
A local witness later told the German crew that one of the cars pursuing them belonged to the villages Communist Party secretary.
Hua Chunying said during Friday’s press briefing that foreign reporters had to obey Chinese laws whilst reporting there.
The ARD was told by police that they should’ve asked for permission to film in the village, because locals were, quote, “offended” by their presence.
Under Chinese law, foreign reporters do not have to ask for permission to film in public places.
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