BEIJING (November 11, 11:29 a.m. PST) - China invited international news organizations, set up a Web site and modern press center, solicited interview requests, even welcomed journalists with a lavish cocktail party. At first blush, it looked like a political media event anywhere else in the world.

But the surface openness at China's Communist Party congress this week in Beijing has, in many ways, proved to be an illusion.

At least one foreign reporter has been detained by police. Overseas television broadcasters have had outgoing stories cut by censors. And the world has been denied any real glimpse into the inner workings of the weeklong meeting, expected to produce the next leaders of the world's most populous country.

While China has adopted some of the glossy trappings of modern public relations, its political system remains as opaque and unwelcoming as ever. It's a contradiction common in today's China, where one of the world's last communist regimes presides over a robust, increasingly free-market economy.

The clumsy mix of friendly talk and intimidation reflects the party's sensitivity to the portrayal of this congress and particularly President Jiang Zemin, 76, expected to retire as party chief this week and be replaced by 59-year-old Vice President Hu Jintao.

"It's clear that what Jiang is concerned about is image. He wants to be celebrated as a great contributor to China's modernization," said Tim Weston, an assistant professor of history at the University of Colorado at Boulder who is writing a book on journalism in China.

The odd mix of carrot and stick may also reflect the discomfort many Chinese officials seem to feel when dealing with journalists who aren't under their direct control - as all mainland reporters are.

Coverage of the congress in China's state-run press has consisted of ceaseless praise for Jiang's accomplishments - even to the point of doctoring quotes from Western journalists to make them sound rosier. The dozens of newspapers in the capital carry the same centrally generated stories, and often the same photos and front-page layouts.

Press restrictions are nothing new during Communist Party congresses, held every five years. But the number of non-mainland journalists has grown as China's economy has opened. There are 759 this year - some 100 more than 1997, according to organizers.

Failure of foreign journalists to toe the government's line has provoked some harsh responses.

At least one photographer was detained and forced to delete digital-camera images after taking photos of police leading off a protester. The photographer was told his pictures were "unauthorized" and his press credentials applied only to official events.

Several protesters, most acting alone, have appeared outside the Great Hall of the People, the huge building facing Tiananmen Square where the congress is being held. They are quickly bundled away, and any pamphlets they try to hurl toward reporters or delegates are aggressively scooped up by police.

News reports on the congress by Canadian, German, Finnish and Hong Kong television agencies, all intended for home audiences, were blocked as they were beamed out of China, reporters said. The footage showed [...] protests in Tibet, practitioners of the [persecuted] Falun Gong [group] and other politically sensitive material.

Foreign television agencies also said their requests for live shots outside the Great Hall had been rejected. Satellite broadcasts by CNN and the BBC visible at hotels and foreign compounds in Beijing have been repeatedly blacked out for brief intervals during reports on sensitive political issues.

The treatment contrasted with the friendly greeting given foreign reporters at the congress' carpeted media center. Smiling attendants offered a coat check, Internet access and stacks of free reference books in several languages.

"Warm welcome to all journalists both at home and abroad for covering the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China," said a red banner on one wall. Forms were available to request interviews with party delegates, but requests for top and even midlevel delegates were rejected.

The official Xinhua News Agency carried reports Monday about foreign press coverage of the congress. But they quoted only praise.

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