NEWS//News war
China and the United States are engaged in a news war — or at least a significant skirmish.
On March 18, China informed reporters from the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal that their press credentials are being revoked. The revocation effects a dozen reporters.
The news conflict broke out on February 16, when “the Trump administration classified employees of five state-run Chinese news organizations as government operatives who should be treated as employees of ‘foreign missions,’ not journalists” (USA Today) The news outlets were Xinhua, CGTN, China Radio, China Daily and the People’s Daily.
On February 19, China retaliated by expelling three Wall Street Journal reporters who were based in Beijing. Their loss of reporting privileges came on the heels of a WSJ op-ed criticizing the Chinese response to COVID-19, titled “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia.”
On March 2, the U.S. State Department reduced the number of Chinese citizens allowed to work in the U.S. for the five state-run Chinese media outlets from 160 to 100.
On March 18, China responded by revoking the press credentials of a dozen reporters from the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.
AXIOS.com notes, “The U.S. restrictions targeted Chinese state-run media, which are widely recognized as propaganda outlets. With the exception of Voice of America, the U.S. outlets affected by new Chinese restrictions are private.”
USA Today said, “Foreign reporters in China are able to put out sensitive stories that might otherwise never come to light due to the country’s strict censorship of its own domestic outlets. ‘It would be impossible not to interpret Beijing’s latest move as an effort to control the uncontrollable story, namely the spread of COVID-19,’ said Suzanne Nossel, CEO of free speech nonprofit PEN America.”