Belgian reporter Tom Van de Weghe of the Flemish public TV station VRT, his Australian cameraman and his Belgian assistant were in Henan province doing a report on AIDS in China when they were attacked and robbed by eight men recruited by the Henan provincial authorities, VRT said.
The eight men intercepted them while they were on their way to a village and demanded that they surrender the videotape of interviews they had already done. The crew handed over the videocassettes after being hit. Their assailants also took money, microphones and batteries.
VRT has demanded an apology and compensation. The Belgian government has asked the Chinese authorities for an explanation.
Source: BBC Chinese, December 2, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7760000/newsid_7761000/7761098.stm