(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-24 14:11

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released a picture on its website showing Chinese Armed Police officers helping medical staff move a wounded person into an ambulance.

The website's caption said that "there is a heavy military presence in Lhasa", neglecting the obvious First Aid and Red Cross signs on the ambulance.

Related readings:  Residents in Tibetan-inhabited county return to normal life after riot  Baby burned to death in Lhasa riot fire  94 injured in Tibetan-inhabited prefecture riot  Netizens slam CNN's distortion of riot picture  Lhasa riot reports show media bias in West  Tibetans mourn five young women who died in riot

"I was angered, as a media researcher, by their reporting," Zhang said.

German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost posted a picture on its website that depicted police in Lhasa rescuing a young man assaulted by rioters. But the caption said "insurrectionist taken away by police".

U.S.-based Fox TV said in a picture caption on its website that Chinese military personnel dragged some protestors onto a vehicle, when actually the uniformed people were Indian police.

N-TV, headquartered in Germany, used TV footage showing police with captured protestors in a report on the Tibet riots. The footage had been shot in Nepal and the police were Nepalese.

Zhang said that in these cases, newspapers and TV stations obviously chose materials according to their pre-conceived ideas. When they failed to find "proper" materials, they used something else instead.

"They violated the fundamental journalistic principle of 'truth'," she said.

Working at a Tianjin TV station, He Hua said she understood the great visual impact that pictures and TV footage had on readers and audiences.

She said a New York Times story that mentioned the riot in Tibet used a picture of Nepalese police and protesters. This would definitely mislead the public, not to mention reports directly confusing Nepalese and Indian police with Chinese.

"I was ashamed for my western counterparts," she said.

Yang Jing, graduate student in the international communication school of CUC, said she was disappointed by the western media, which she used to appreciate and respect for their objectivity and fairness.

"When some major events happened, I used to check how they reported them and listen to their opinions. However, their good image collapsed in my mind due to this incident," she said.

According to official statistics, at least 18 civilians and one police officer have been confirmed killed in the Lhasa unrest, which also saw 624 injuries. Damage is estimated at more than 244 million yuan (about US$34 million).

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