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Sjoerd den Daas: China slammed as guards drag on-air NOS reporter away during Olympic coverage

The incident was captured live on camera as Dutch reporter Sjoerd den Daas was dragged away from the National Stadium entrance

Social media was abuzz after a Dutch reporter was forced off air and physically manhandled during a live segment of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Chinese guards pulled Sjoerd den Daas, the Greater China/East Asia correspondent for Dutch public broadcaster NOS, off the air as he reported live on Friday, February 4, from the 2022 Winter Olympics. The incident was captured live on camera as den Daas was dragged away from the National Stadium entrance and guards blocked the camera.

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"We are now being pulled out of here," den Daas said while still live on air. "We have just been expelled from another area, so I'm afraid we'll have to come back to you later."

Shortly after the video began gaining traction on social media, NOS tweeted, “Our correspondent @sjoerddendaas was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12:00 pm live in the NOS Journaal. Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming a daily reality for journalists in China. He is fine and was able to finish his story a few minutes later.”

The interruption reported came from a man wearing a black jacket and a red band around his sleeve, which appears to distinguish him from a ‘Public Security Volunteer,’ a citizen-led neighborhood watch established to help police maintain order, according to The Daily Mail.

The sensational video has garnered hundreds of thousands of views at the time of publication. NOS editor-in-chief Marcel Gelauff called the incident a "painful illustration" of how the foreign press is treated in China. "Sjoerd has often told and shown that it is difficult as a journalist in China," Gelauff told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, as quoted by Insider. "There is a far-reaching tendency to curtail freedoms, and this may be even stronger because of (Covid-19)." He added, "I haven't spoken to Sjoerd yet, but from what I saw on the images I didn't get the idea that he was in the way."

The 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off on Friday amid growing outrage over the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Chinese regime in Xinjiang. That said, the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was excoriated on social media after the shocking footage went viral. "The CCP has begun to take its tips from Biden’s media enforcers," attorney Jenna Ellis tweeted.

"No, it's totally cool that we're participating in this," TV host S E Cupp wrote in sarcasm. "In Beijing at the Olympic stadium, helpful Chinese officials take the Dutch reporter @sjoerddendaas away to a re-education camp. Worry not, Dutch people! The CCP will pay the entire cost of reeducation. It won’t cost you a cent. Win-win! Happy Panda," media analyst Mike Doran added.

"It's just some Chinese Communist Party guys shutting down a reporter at the Olympics... Nothing to see here... everyone move along," Washington Times columnist Tim Young chimed in. "We shouldn't have any Americans in China right now!" conservative firebrand Brigitte Gabrielle commented.