Fan Guijing walked out of the association’s annual conference in Nuku’alofa on Tuesday in protest at comments made by the vice president of the CBA, Mano Wikranamayake.
Wikranamayake said that last year’s melamine milk contamination story was suppressed by the Chinese government so the Olympic Games in Beijing would not be disrupted. The scandal left six babies dead and almost 300,000 ill.
Fan told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat program the Sri Lankan press representative should check his facts before making such statements.
“He was telling the people at the conference that the Chinese government suppressed press freedom during the Olympic Games, this is total nonsense,” he said.
“I believe that all press men should have the basic, the minimum sense of morality, and he does not seem to have it.”
Fan said that while he has not spoken personally to Wikranamayake, nor does he want to speak to him, he has received an apology from the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association.
During last year’s Olympic Games, China relaxed some of its rules for foreign journalists, allowing them to travel more freely and organize interviews without first obtaining permission from authorities.
However, sensitive areas such as Tibet were still off-limits, and reporters were harassed and detained.
The relaxed rules did not apply to Chinese journalists, who continue to face strict controls and censorship, according to press freedom organizations.
