The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, today condemned the Chinese government鈥檚 growing attempts to restrict the work of international journalists in the country, most recently targeting U.S. and Australian reporters.
At least 5 reporters from U.S-based media organizations including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg and Getty Images were recently were denied renewal of their press credentials. to Chinese officials, the future of their press cards would depend on 鈥渨hether the White House allows Chinese journalists to continue working in the US, as the move comes in response to a looming visa expiry deadline of 6 November for Chinese journalists based in the US鈥�.
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China鈥檚 foreign ministry, said in a that 鈥淐hina would be glad to continue its excellent cooperation with the #US journalists here if the Chinese journalists are treated fairly in the US.鈥� In a continued thread, Chunying updated that visas of some US journalists have already been processed, and that they will be allowed to continue living and working in the country. 鈥淭he U.S Department of State has delayed and denied visas of about 30 Chinese journalists and expelled 60 in March, limited visas for all Chinese journalists to a maximum 90-day stay in May and has not approved visa extension of any of them,鈥� she wrote.
The world鈥檚 two superpowers have been engaged in a media standoff for months, with an over the global pandemic the rift. The U.S State Department was the first to make a move at combating 鈥淏eijing propaganda鈥� by introducing restrictions on U.S-based Chinese state media organizations in February this year. In response, China expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters from the country for a opinion piece calling China the 鈥渞eal sick man of Asia鈥�.
Meanwhile, Australian journalists based in China have also been targeted as tensions between Beijing and Canberra continue to grow since the latter for an international inquiry into the source and spread of the coronavirus. IPI recently condemned the detention of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, a business reporter with the Chinese state broadcaster.
Two other Australian journalists, ABC鈥檚 Bill Birtles and the AFR鈥檚 Michael Smith, were banned from leaving China until they answered questions about Lei. They later took refuge in Australia鈥檚 Beijing and Shanghai consulates and were flown home today after diplomatic negotiations.
Australian media reported that the evacuation of Birtles and Smith leaves 鈥渘o accredited Australian media journalists in China鈥� for the first time since the two countries normalised relations in the mid-1970s.
鈥淭it-for-tat expulsions of journalists hinder the flow of information across borders at a time when global cooperation is essential, and both China and the U.S. should stop diplomatic disagreements from affecting the work of journalists鈥�, IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said. 鈥淗owever, China鈥檚 recent moves must also be seen as part of a broader, highly disturbing effort to restrict the work of international journalists and prevent the publication of critical news about Beijing鈥檚 policies.鈥�
China resumed forcing foreign journalists out of the country in 2013. A recent by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China observing working conditions in 2019 revealed that 鈥淐hinese authorities have weaponized visas against the foreign press by issuing truncated press credentials and expelling journalists thru non-renewal鈥�.
The recent moves also come as international media scrutiny over China has grown in relation to human rights issues, including the massive crackdown on fundamental rights in Hong Kong, the widely reported 鈥渞e-education鈥� camps for the Uighur Muslim population in Xinjiang, and more recently efforts to restrict the rights of minorities in the country鈥檚 Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
Earlier this month, Los Angeles Times reporter Alice Su was detained and then expelled from China鈥檚 Inner Mongolia region after covering protests over a new language policy reducing the use of Mongolian in schools.