Richard Bestic, formerly working as a journalist for Rupert Murdoch's Sky News, writes,

Whenever I wished to cover a story in China, I would first need permission from officials. If they agreed, I would be obliged to take along a "minder" at £55 per day - plus money for food and hotel accommodation.

It is not unusual to be refused permission to cover a story in China. The reasons vary, but they don't really matter. Lazy officials would often say "no" for what they called "a variety of reasons". My favourite was the universal "it is not convenient at this time".

Ahh, the old 不方便. Don't we love it? (link via Brainysmurf, who also mentions Asian Labour News).