The Sichuan government is planning to place limits on the number of journalists that news organisations can register to cover the aftermath of the earthquake, in another sign of tighter control over the media. A second batch of press passes would be issued soon - possibly starting in the next few days - and the government would 'in principle' limit the number issued, a publicity official said. She said the exact number to be granted to each news organisation had yet to be decided, but the numerical limits would apply to both overseas and domestic media. After the earthquake, the government began issuing press passes dated for May, which allowed journalists to cover the disaster, though local authorities have rarely asked to see them. Some journalists never even applied. The official said the government was concerned about the large number of reporters in the disaster zone, putting the number of foreign journalists at 800. However, that number is believed to be a cumulative total. 'The disaster zone can't handle that many. Some reporters have asked disaster survivors hurtful questions,' she said. There are signs of a co-ordinated campaign to limit media access, especially regarding sensitive stories. Yesterday, police continued to bar journalists from going to schools in Juyuan town and Dujiangyan city after parents of students killed when the school buildings collapsed protested earlier in the week. A member of the paramilitary People's Armed Police barred a foreign journalist and a car carrying local reporters from entering the street leading to Xinjian Elementary School in Dujiangyan. 'This is the regulation,' he said. At Juyuan High School, police also stopped reporters from entering the site. 'This area has been cordoned off,' an officer said. Authorities have started enforcing traffic controls in some areas, including on the expressway between Chengdu and Dujiangyan, the gateway to the quake's epicentre in Wenchuan .
