Chinese reporters were also prohibited from reporting on food-safety issues during the Olympics, she said.

Still, he did not explain why, for most of the epidemic, Chinese reporters were explicitly banned from reporting about it.

"Privatization or marketization, it's the same thing," a Chinese reporter said.

Are Chinese reporters really so eager to flog their British peers?

In fact, three parents say they themselves were under surveillance because officers did not want them talking to the Chinese reporters swarming into town.

One Chinese reporter said that any understanding would have been reached only after a series of bargains and concessions.

Local Chinese reporters are not included in this new relaxation of regulations.

The Nen River has already submerged 2,000 of the field's 25,000 oil wells and others are at risk, say Chinese reporters in the area.

Chen Weizhi, a lecturer, said that the director was responsible if the Chinese reporters misunderstood the film.

"I can see why they wouldn't want to use the term 'president,' since we don't recognize Taiwan as a country," said a Chinese reporter.