Foreign journalists who work for American news organizations in China are unable to get their press credentials renewed by the Chinese government.
When the visa of a journalist expires, they must leave the country. China has not approved any new correspondent replacements for the Washington Post, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and Getty Images.There is conflict between China and Western countries, particularly with the United States, due to controversy with trading, violation of human-rights, and China’s repression on independence for Hong Kong.
Photo Credit: The Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal had three reporters removed from Beijing in February. It is mandatory for The Washington Post, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Voice of America to report to the Chinese government about their staff, finances and affairs within the country. A note was made to the Chinese government in Beijing, by publishers of The Washington Post, NY Times, and The Wall Street Journal to “ease the growing crackdown on independent news organizations.”
The New York Times revealed in July about their plan of relocating to Seoul next year, because of the uncertainty of Chinese rule in Hong Kong. A long time reporter of NY Times was also urged in May to part ways from China since the Chinese officials would not renew his work permit, according to The Washington Post. The NY Times international editor Michael Slackman said he is “hopeful over time that we will be able to get our entire reporting staff back. We are clearly struggling to figure out how best to cover China when access is such a problem. But as you can see from our report we are continuing to try to cover the most important political, social and economic stories of the day. Of course, it would be a lot easier if more of our correspondents were permitted to live and work in China again.”
The independent, and non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists organization advocates for freedom of press globally. According to their 2019 survey of how many journalists were imprisoned around the world, China had the most compared to any other country. There were forty-eight journalists in China, out of the approximate 250 jailed worldwide. The relatives of correspondents who live in China have also been arrested for the reporting done by the journalist’s living outside of China, according to Share America.
Chinese officials have expressed that if the Trump administration chooses to discharge Chinese journalists, then Beijing would mutually respond, as stated by The New York Times. The Foreign Correspondent Club organization stated how the Chinese government has already removed seventeen foreign journalists in the first few months of 2020, seven of them are from The New York Times. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian has blamed Washington for being “arrogant and unreasonable” in a compromise with China, regarding the restoration of visas for Chinese journalists within the United States, and he also informed that “all cards were on the table.”
