New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post journalists among staff ordered to stop reporting and leave

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

China will expel US reporters of three major US news outlets, in a hugely damaging attack on foreign media coverage of the country – and an escalation of the showdown over the press between Washington and Beijing.

The decision, announced just after midnight Beijing time, requires US citizens working for the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal to halt reporting and hand in their press cards within 10 days, if their credentials expire before the end of 2020.

China usually gives journalists only 12-month visas and press cards, so the measure is likely to impact most correspondents. It will decimate some of the biggest newsrooms in China and force reporters with decades of experience covering the country to leave.

They will be barred from working not only in the mainland, but also Hong Kong, the self-autonomous city that has in the past provided a base for China correspondents unable to get a visa from Chinese authorities.

“They will not be allowed to continue working as journalists in the People’s Republic of China, including its Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions,” the ministry of foreign affairs said.

The decision to include Hong Kong in the announcement raised disturbing questions about the city’s autonomy, as it is meant to control its own media accreditation under the “one country, two systems” agreement between the UK and China that succeeded the handover from colonial rule.

“This is obviously an escalation in the tit-for-tat between Washington and Beijing. But the scale and scope of it is surprising, disproportionate and unprecedented,” said Yuen Chan, senior lecturer in journalism at City University London.

“It’s particularly unusual and disturbing that Hong Kong and Macau are included in the restrictions. In the past, American correspondents who’ve been kicked out or experienced visa delays have worked in their organisation’s bureaus in Hong Kong – this won’t now be possible.”

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The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said he regretted China’s decision and hoped Beijing would reconsider, saying the move would deprive the world of information in “incredibly challenging” times caused by the coronavirus.

The three papers whose staff are being expelled – and two other US outlets, Time and Voice of America – will be required to “declare in written form information about their staff, finance, operation and real estate in China”.

China said it was responding to a US move last month to tighten controls on Chinese state media organisations, classifying them as foreign missions.

“In recent years, the US government has placed unwarranted restrictions on Chinese media agencies and personnel in the US, purposely made things difficult for their normal reporting assignments, and subjected them to growing discrimination and politically-motivated oppression,” China’s foreign ministry said.

“The above-mentioned measures are entirely necessary and reciprocal countermeasures that China is compelled to take in response to the unreasonable oppression the Chinese media organisations experience in the US.”

But Pompeo disputed the comparison, saying all reporters in Washington enjoy press freedoms that don’t exist in China.

“The individuals that we identified a few weeks back were not media that were acting here freely,” he said. “They were part of Chinese propaganda outlets. We’ve identified these as foreign missions under American law. These aren’t apples to apples, and I regret China’s decision today to further foreclose the world’s ability to conduct free press operations.”

The US state department initially said in February that it would not impose any restrictions on Chinese media’s activities in the US.

But after China expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters, the US slashed by nearly half the number of Chinese nationals allowed to work for their state-run media there. US authorities claimed the decision was based on levelling numbers between the countries rather than retaliating over content.

The Chinese foreign ministry made clear that Beijing was prepared for further escalation. “Should the US choose to go further down the wrong path, it could expect more countermeasures from China.”