China: Ill-Treatment of US journalists as reciprocation is unacceptable
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September 7, 2020, Shanghai, China -- Ranked as the fifth least free country in the world according to the World Press Freedom Index, China is notorious for its treatment of journalists, especially foreign journalists. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is worried about retaliatory actions by the Chinese government against journalists who are from the US.
The latest of such retaliation comes in the form of refusing to renew accreditation of US journalists. The decision comes after Chinese journalists in the US had their work visas lapsed The Chinese journalists have reportedly been allowed to stay in the country for a 90-day grace period that expires in early November. The Wall Street Journal and CNN reported that their respective journalists were issued letters allowing them to continue working in China with their expired press credentials however it makes it hard for journalists to safely continue their work with expired press credentials in case they report on tumultuous and controversial issues which is inevitable for journalists.
In a series of Twitter posts, the FCCC expressed deep alarm at the Chinese government's latest move.
1/ The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China is very alarmed that Chinese authorities have stopped renewing press credentials for journalists working at US news organizations.
— Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (@fccchina) September 7, 2020
Moreover, LA Times reported on September 3rd that a woman journalist whose name wasn’t disclosed was briefly detained without due reason while she visited a Mongol school in Hohhot. The reporter was covering a story about the much discussed issue of the right to mother tongue of Mongol students who study in Chinese schools. The journalist was surrounded by plainclothes men who put her into a police car. They took her to the back building of a police station, where she was interrogated and separated from her belongings despite identifying herself as an accredited journalist. She was not allowed to call the U.S. Embassy; one officer grabbed her throat with both hands and pushed her into a cell.
The reporter was detained for more than four hours. She was then forced to leave the region, with three government officials and a policeman accompanying her to a train and standing at the window until the train left for Beijing.
Inner Mongolia is a region of 25 million people that borders the country of Mongolia to the north. About 17% of the population is ethnic Mongolian while the Han make up 79%. A recent bill introduced changes to education of Mongol students in middle schools which would no longer provide them with educational material in any other language than Chinese. Opponents see the move as an attempt to force them to assimilate into China's majority Han culture. They fear their mother tongue could be wiped out over time.
Foreign journalists in China are often threatened by both legal harassment and online attacks. Australian TV anchor has been kept under detention for the past two weeks with no explanation from law enforcement. The Coalition For Women In Journalism denounces such arbitrary legal procedures and demands the authorities to act with reasonable suspicion in order to protect the already targeted freedom of the press in China.
