A reporter for Hong Kong?s populist Apple Daily, who was denied entry into Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics, was allowed back into the Chinese capital yesterday and had his confiscated travel document returned. The Hong Kong based newspaper, known for its pro-democracy stance and critical China reportage, said one of its senior reporters, Norman Choy, had been turned away at Beijing on July 1, just over a month before the start of the Games, and had his travel document confiscated.

But Choy told Reuters that he had flown to Beijing yesterday and that Chinese authorities had returned his Hong Kong home return permit and given him a media pass to cover the Olympics, which open on Aug. 8. ?I've got it back, everything has been very smooth so far,? Choy said by phone from Beijing. ?My heart is now at ease as I've finished all the paperwork and can now focus on reporting on the Olympics.?

He said Beijing had given no explanation for denying him entry in the first place. The move drew strong criticism from global rights groups and media watchdogs, who said China was reneging on its pre-Olympic pledges to allow foreign journalists full access to report in the country. In reality however, incidents such as the Tibet riots in March and the running of the Olympic torch relay in Xinjiang have seen the movement of foreign reporters severely curtailed.Unique among Hong Kong?s media outlets, Apple Daily?s reporters are not usually granted official accreditation to enter mainland China, but are nevertheless often allowed to travel there on an unofficial basis.