China has denied a journalist visa to an American reporter who has written extensively on Chinese government influence issues in the United States.



Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, a freelance journalist based in Washington, DC, had begun the process of applying for a journalist visa with French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) last year. After several months of waiting, AFP was told that if it wanted to fill the position, it would have to put forth another candidate, Allen-Ebrahimian said in an interview.

Reached by phone, Patrick Baert, Beijing bureau chief for AFP, declined to comment on whether Chinese Foreign Ministry officials had made this statement about Allen-Ebrahimian, but said AFP is monitoring the situation.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be immediately reached for comment.

“I feel really sad,” Allen-Ebrahimian said by phone. “I love the Chinese people and I was really, really looking forward to getting back to China, and to telling the stories of people I met there, and writing in a nuanced way about what’s happening as the country descends into a kind of totalitarianism.”

China’s government has historically used visas to keep out journalists and news organizations who engage in critical work.