In recent years, the US administration has rolled out a series of discriminatory oppressive measures against Chinese media and journalists based in the country, which fully revealed their bald-faced “double standards” in the name of “freedom of press” and its bullying practices.
The US has been mounting pressure on the Chinese media.
In December 2018, CGTN America was registered as a "foreign agent" under orders from the US Department of Justice.
On February 18, 2020, the US State Department designated 5 Chinese media outlets as "foreign missions" and demanded personnel, financial, operational and property information from them.
On March 2, 2020, the US State Department announced that from March 13, the 5 Chinese media outlets designated as "foreign missions", including Xinhua News Agency, have to slash the number of Chinese nationals permitted to work at the US offices to 100, a 40% cut in staff member, which means de facto expulsion of the Chinese journalists stationed in the US.
The US has adopted discriminatory visa policies against Chinese journalists entering the US.
US-based Chinese journalists are only allowed single-entry visas. They have to reapply for visas after they leave for China or for a third country. However, the US issues multiple-entry visas for journalists from other countries and regions.
From 2018, the US has started to make visa applications difficult for Chinese journalists by arbitrarily increasing application documents. In addition to normal materials, Chinese journalists also have to provide their social media accounts, foreign-visit records of the past 15 years, addresses, phone numbers, travel histories, personal resume, published works, personal payroll, the media outlets' introduction, registration information in the US and organizational structures, colleagues' information and social connections, etc.
The US extends the time for visa approval, indefinitely delays approval and even denies application in the name of administrative processing. Statistics show that from 2018, more than 30 Chinese journalists had their visa application denied after indefinite delay. Among them, nine US-based journalists could not reenter after departure. Some Chinese journalists applied for US visa in mid-December 2019, but so far they have not heard from the US side and their passports have not been returned to them.
The US has restricted Chinese journalists’ reporting activities in the US
Having registered CGTN and China Daily as "foreign agents" (the latter in 1983), the US rejected the application of journalists with the two outlets for credentials. Using "foreign agents" as an excuse, the US also asked some journalists from China's media to submit proof of employment to the White House and denied their application for credentials for covering Capitol Hill. Chinese journalists face restrictions in reporting in the US. They are often treated differently and even interrogated when they cover events.
Some Chinese journalists reported that they were excluded in e-mail invitations for small-scale events. In some cases, the excuse is "no vacancy". After US designated Chinese media outlets as "foreign agents", coverage in the US became even harder and Chinese journalists got more rejections in interviews.
What the US has done has severely violated the normal and legal rights and interests of Chinese journalists carrying out news covers overseas, and damages the reputation of the Chinese media and journalists. The association strongly condemns and firmly opposes it. The association urges the U.S. side to immediately stop the political oppression based on Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, rectify the misdeeds that infringe on the legals rights and interests of Chinese journalists based in the country and provide guarantee for the normal operation of Chinese media organizations and the normal work of Chinese journalists.
