White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. Photo: Reuters
Brisbane Times
Steve Holland, Date January 31, 2014 – 6:07AM
Washington: The White House has sharply criticised China’s treatment of foreign journalists after a New York Times journalist was forced to leave the country.
In a statement, White House spokesman Jay Carney said foreign journalists faced impediments to doing their jobs. Such conditions included extended delays in processing journalist visas, restrictions on travel to some locations deemed “sensitive” by Chinese authorities, and sometimes even violence from local officials.
“These restrictions and treatment are not consistent with freedom of the press and stand in stark contrast with US treatment of Chinese and other foreign journalists,” Mr Carney said.
The statement expressed disappointment that New York Times reporter Austin Ramzy was forced to leave China on Thursday because of processing delays for his press credentials.
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“We remain concerned that Mr Ramzy and several other US journalists have waited months, and in some cases years, for a decision on their press credentials and visa applications,” Mr Carney said.
Treatment of American journalists is one of several issues that have strained US-Chinese relations recently, along with China’s declaration of an air defence zone to support its territorial claims on islands that Japan considers part of its territory in the East China Sea.
Mr Carney said the United States would continue to raise its concerns about the treatment of journalists and media organisations in China. He urged Beijing to commit to timely visa and credentialling decisions for foreign journalists as well as to unblock US media websites and eliminate other restrictions.
“Our two countries should be expanding media exchanges to enhance mutual understanding and trust,” he said, “not restricting the ability of journalists to do their work.”
Ramzy, a journalist who previously worked in China six years for Time magazine, has not been given a journalist visa since he moved to the newspaper last year. Facing an expiring visa, he boarded a flight to Taipei, Taiwan, on Thursday afternoon.
Ramzy’s forced departure will result in the first full-time Times correspondent in memory being stationed in Taiwan, an island China considers a rebellious province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
Journalists at the Times and Bloomberg News have encountered visa problems after both organisations published articles about wealth and corruption among Communist Party leaders. The massive wealth acquired by “princelings” – relatives of elite government figures – is considered a particularly sensitive issue by the government.
Last month, as visas were due to expire for journalists at the Times, Bloomberg News and other organisations, the government refused to process their applications until the last moment. The government relented after a personal appeal by Vice President Biden to China’s president.
Ramzy will continue applying for a visa while reporting in Taiwan, said Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha.
At a press conference on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang argued that Ramzy was not being expelled or forced to leave. He characterised the departure as bureaucratic in nature and accused Ramzy of violating Chinese regulations because he continued to travel to China on his previous unexpired journalist visa while waiting for a new one.
Times representatives have pointed out that Ramzy’s old visa was never cancelled by the government nor raised as an issue until recently.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China issued a statement condemning Mr Qin’s accusations and criticising the government. “Suggestions by Chinese officials that Mr Ramzy did not correctly comply with Chinese visa regulations are disingenuous; the regulations are unclear and have not been applied to other journalists in similar situations to that of Ramzy,” the organisation said.
“It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the authorities are punishing the New York Times for articles it published concerning Premier Wen Jiabao and his family. Such behaviour falls well short of international standards.”
The Times and Bloomberg News have not been able to obtain visas for journalists newly hired for positions in China during the past two years. Both have only been able to renew visas for employees already in China.
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