Visa Weaponization jeopardizes the Presence of Foreign Reporters in China

The Foreign Reporters’ and journalists’ Club of China condemns the government’s strategy of attempting to destroy foreign journalists’ visas, which, together with persistent harassment, makes reporting the nation an increasingly tough task.

The Foreign Reporters’ Club of China (FCCC) condemned the government’s more deliberate weaponization of foreign reporters’ visas in a report issued on January 31, 2022.

Visa Restrictions Stifle Foreign Journalism in China

According to the research, which is based on the replies of 127 FCCC members, 96% of FCCC members were denied a regular “J-1” resident journalist visa in 2021, alternatively obtaining two to three-month residency permits. The study also revealed the government’s increased persecution of foreign reporters and their sources, which, along with visa weaponization, makes it “increasingly difficult for reporters staying in China to work.”

“Foreign reporters are essential for the world to know China, one of the world’s greatest trade blocs, and the global community simply cannot let the Chinese government be the only information source about the nation,” says RSF East Asia Bureau head Cédric Alviani. The Chinese government to stop harassing foreign correspondents and their sources by building pressure.”

The reporters mentioned having interviews refused by sources who stated they needed prior authorization to talk to foreign media, being hindered by police or even other authorities, and being barred from entry to a location citing Covid-19 as a justification are some of the tactics used to pressure them.

RSF has produced an extraordinary investigative study titled ‘The Great Leap Backwards of Journalists in China,’ which shows Beijing’s historically unheard-of campaign of repression against journalism and the right to information throughout the world.

China is currently at 177th place out of 180 countries in the RSF World Press Freedom Index, just two places higher than North Korea, where reporting is associated with official propaganda.

If you like to know more about Chinese visas, check out our articles about Chinese visas to learn about all various aspects of them.