China considers barring Tiananmen broadcasts during Olympics

BEIJING (AP) The outburst of unrest over Tibet may be prompting China to re-consider live television broadcasts from Tiananmen Square during the Beijing Olympics.

NBC and other major international networks have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to broadcast the games and were counting on striking shots from the iconic square.

Like the games themselves, the broadcasts from Tiananmen were meant to showcase a friendly, confident China that had put behind it the deadly military assault on pro-democracy demonstrators in the square two decades ago.

Earlier this week, officials with the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee told executives at Beijing Olympic Broadcasting that the live shots were canceled, according to three people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity. They said no explanation was given.

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