Foreign journalists in China see 'rapid decline in media freedom': survey

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) said on Monday (Mar 1) that China used coronavirus prevention measures ushering in a “rapid decline in media freedom,”

Authorities cited public health concerns to deny reporters access to sensitive areas and threatened them with enforced quarantine. On the top of that, visa restrictions were also used to put pressure on reporting.

China expelled more than a dozen foreign journalists at U.S. media organizations in 2020, amid a series of tit-for-tat actions between the countries. Washington also slashed the number of journalists permitted to work in US at four major Chinese state-owned media outlets.

Last Sept Australia helped two of its foreign correspondents leave China after they were questioned by the country’s state security ministry.

Source: Reuters #Mar01

https://reut.rs/3sCF6bS

#China #FCCC #MediaFreedom

China Takes Aim at ‘Illegal’ Club for Foreign Correspondents

China slammed a Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) as an “illegal organization,” broadening its attack on journalists whose reports differ from the government’s official line. While Beijing has long described the FCCC as illegal, the rebuke as a whole was longer and more detailed than in the past.

The BBC’s China correspondent John Sudworth recently left Beijing for Taipei. That followed criticism from the government over the broadcaster’s recent coverage. The BBC News Press Team said in a statement that his reporting “exposed truths the Chinese authorities did not want the world to know.”

The Communist Party-backed Global Times characterized Sudworth’s work as biased.

Source: Bloomberg #Apr01

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-01/china-takes-aim-at-illegal-club-for-foreign-correspondents

#China #FCCC #ForeignMediaThreatChina #China #BBC

Foreign journalists harassed covering China floods, correspondents' club says

Journalists from several media outlets covering recent floods in China were harassed online and by local residents, with staff from the BBC and Los Angeles Times receiving death threats, according to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC).

In a statement on Tuesday, the FCCC criticised what it said was growing hostility to foreign media, some of which it said was fanned by official bodies.

"There must be immediate action by the Chinese government to stop these attacks which continue to endanger foreign journalists," the BBC said in a statement on Twitter.

Source: Reuters #Jul27

https://reut.rs/3zEkQu2

#China #BBC #LosAngelesTimes #FCCC #journalist

Press groups raise alarm over threats to foreign media in China

Press groups have expressed alarm at the worsening intimidation of foreign media in China, often driven by government officials and organisations.

As recovery and rescue efforts continue in Henan province after last week’s deadly floods, groups including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) have condemned recent harassment and threats towards journalists covering the disaster.

Reporters from international outlets – including the BBC, Los Angeles Times, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, CNN, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press – have been harassed or threatened over their coverage.

Source: The Guardian #Jul27

https://bit.ly/3zHwLYy
 
#China #Media #Press #Alarm #FCCC

Foreign Media Reporters Slammed for Obstructing Beijing Winter Olympics Coverage: Stalking, Harassment, and Reprimands

Foreign media reporters based in China issued a statement on 2 November, accusing the Chinese government of "constantly blocking" foreign media from covering Beijing Winter Olympics-related events, including denying or ignoring requests to cover the event, as well as stalking, harassing, bullying and making things difficult for reporters with almost impossible-to-reach epidemic prevention requirements.

The Guardian reported on 2 November that the Foreign Correspondents' Club in China (FCCC) issued a sternly worded statement on Twitter accusing the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympics of failing to uphold the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s charter requirement to adequately ensure media coverage of the Games for a global audience, “Our members have repeatedly asked (the Beijing Winter Games Organizing Committee) how the international media can cover the Games, but have been met with conflicting answers or have been completely ignored.”

The Beijing Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place next February. The statement said that in the past year, most of the FCCC reporters were unable to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics press conference or related events, while domestic Chinese reporters were allowed to cover the event; many of the dates of the press conference were not announced in advance or were announced only a few hours before the press conference. Foreign journalists were denied access to the event because the Beijing Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee limited their participation to selected media outlets, announced that the number of participants was full, or requested that participants submit their COVID-19 test results within a few hours, which was almost impossible.

Source: LibertyTimesNet #Nov03

https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.ltn.com.tw/amp/news/world/breakingnews/3724243

#China #Beijing #ForeignMedia #BeijingOlympicWinterGames #BeijingWinterGamesOrganizingCommittee #InternationalOlympicCommittee #IOC #ForeignCorrespondentsClubinChina #FCCC #TheGuardian