China is retaliating against American journalists for new restrictions the State Department placed on Chinese reporters operating in America.
On Tuesday, China announced that it was expelling reporters from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
In a statement, the Chinese government said reporters from those outlets whose press credentials expire this year must “notify the Department of Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within four calendar days starting from today and hand back their press cards within ten calendar days.”
It continued to state that American reporters working in China “will not be allowed to continue working as journalists in the People’s Republic of China, including its Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.”
China also demanded that the three newspapers, as well as Time Magazine and Voice of America, hand over information about their finances, staff, and operations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the move was “entirely necessary and reciprocal countermeasures that China is compelled to take in response to the unreasonable oppression the Chinese media organizations experience in the U.S.”
The White House National Security Council blasted the decision in a series of tweets:
“The Chinese Communist Party’s decision to expel journalists from China and Hong Kong is yet another step toward depriving the Chinese people and the world of access to true information about China.”
The Chinese Communist Party’s decision to expel journalists from China and Hong Kong is yet another step toward depriving the Chinese people and the world of access to true information about China. (1/2)
— NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) March 17, 2020
The United States calls on China’s leaders to refocus their efforts from expelling journalists and spreading disinformation to joining all nations in stopping the Wuhan coronavirus. (2/2)
— NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) March 17, 2020
Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the Times, called the move “especially irresponsible at a time when the world needs the free and open flow of credible information about the coronavirus pandemic.”
The move by China was in retaliation for the State Department’s decision to impose new restrictions on Chinese reporters operating in the country.
Earlier this month, the State Department ordered four Chinese media outlets operating in the U.S. to reduce their staff by 40%. Additionally, the department issued a duration of stay on the roughly 3,000 Chinese reporters in the country.
That move came after China expelled three Wall Street Journal journalists over an op-ed it claimed was “racist.”
