Chinese Authorities Delay Visas for Foreign Journalists

May 16, 2012

Chinese Authorities Delay Issuing Visas to Foreign Journalists

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned by reports that a foreign journalist was warned by China’s Foreign Ministry that they had breached unspecified regulations by writing three articles on topics considered sensitive by the Chinese Government.

The foreign journalist, who wished to remain anonymous, told IFJ that they believe the warning from the authorities was related to the deliberate delaying of the decision as to whether or not their working visa would be granted. The journalist has been living in Beijing, China for a number of years, and prior to 2011 had encountered no delays in securing a working visa.

The journalist said, “I’ve been waiting on my visa application for almost a year, but the Exit-Entry Administration Department refuses to give me an answer. They have offered various excuses to delay my visa, even asking me to comprehensively explain my previous work and activities”.

However, after having written three articles on sensitive topics, including Chinese artist/activist Ai Weiwei and the Yunnan floods, while waiting on visa approval the journalist was warned by the Foreign Ministry that they had breached the government’s regulation. No further explanation was given.

According to the journalist, “they refused to provide me with a visa because of the critical content of my reports, as well as the upcoming leadership changes due to take place during the Eighteenth National Congress”.

On May 7, Melissa Chan, a female journalist for Al Jezeera English and a Board Member of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC), was expelled from China with an excuse that she too had breached government regulation.

The FCCC reported that authorities also did not provide evidence or explanations as to which regulation had been breached.

Thirteen other foreign journalists have also had their visa applications on hold for more than six months.

“This latest case is another example that demonstrates that the authorities of China are using the content of journalists’ reporting to determine which journalists will receive a working visa,” the IFJ Asia-Pacific Office said.

“The use of the threat of denied working visas as a threat to suppress journalists is a clear violation of press freedom.”

“The IFJ urges Yang Jiechi, Minister of China’s Foreign Ministry, to take action to ensure his officers make decisions regarding the granting of visas to foreign correspondents based on legitimate grounds, rather than consideration of their editorial content”.

On 15 May, Global Times reported that local Beijing authorities had commenced a three months investigative campaign targeting all foreigners who are illegally staying, working and entering Beijing. The report stated that Beijing is the first place to begin monitoring the number of foreigner journalists, with other developed cities expected to follow.

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries

Find the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific

Find the IFJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/IFJAsiaPacific

ENDS

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