Photo: Yin Bogu/Xinhua

China supports its media in safeguarding their reputation and interests, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, adding that China is forced to take relevant countermeasures against American media reporters in China, based on the principle of reciprocity.

In recent years, the US government has been baselessly imposing restrictions on the normal news practices of Chinese media agencies and personnel in the US, and has escalated discrimination and political suppression of Chinese media, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at Thursday's media briefing.

The normal order of life and work of Chinese journalists in the US have been severely disrupted, and many of them were even unable to return to the US to work after returning home for a leave because the US turned down their visas without a reason. They were required to provide a lot of additional materials when applying for visas, Geng said. 

Geng said that in December 2018, the US side required some Chinese media organizations in the US to register as "foreign agents." In February, it listed five Chinese media organizations in the US as "foreign missions," and then it imposed caps on the number of Chinese journalists from the five media outlets, which was a de facto expulsion of a large number of Chinese journalists. 

Facts have proven that the so-called freedom of the press claimed by the US is hypocritical and deceptive. The Chinese side has repeatedly lodged solemn representations with the US over its wrong practices, and expressed its firm opposition and strong condemnation, Geng said. 

The Chinese media have endured all kinds of oppression and discriminatory practices from the US side for too long, but the US has stepped up its efforts, Geng said.

In the face of unfair treatment, double standards and hegemonic bullying from the US, the All-China Journalists' Association has raised strong opposition to the US side. We firmly support Chinese media to safeguard their reputation and interests, and China will be forced to take relevant measures against American media reporters based on the principle of reciprocity, Geng said. 

China announced early Wednesday that it would take countermeasures against restrictive measures on Chinese media agencies in the US, effective immediately. 

China demands, in the spirit of reciprocity, that the China-based bureaus of Voice of America, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and Time declare in written form information about their staff, finance, operations and real estate in China, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a public statement on Wednesday.

China also demands that journalists of US citizenship working with the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post whose press credentials are due to expire before the end of 2020 to hand back their press cards within ten calendar days.

Global Times