Over the past year, foreign journalists have kept up robust efforts to report on significant and sensitive political, economic and cultural developments in China. Regrettably, China’s government continues to harass, threaten and intimidate overseas media and their local staff in an apparent effort to shape news coverage.
The annual Reporting Conditions survey conducted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China and the group’s review of interference incidents reported over the last 12 months sheds light on the situation. The survey was sent to 236 FCCC correspondent members in May, of whom 123 replied.
The FCCC survey, conducted in May 2014, found that 99 percent of respondents do not think reporting conditions in China meet international standards. 80 percent feel conditions have worsened or stayed the same in the past year –- up 10 percentage points from the May 2013 survey. Not one member said conditions had improved.
Half of survey respondents with assistants said their assistants have been harassed or intimidated at least once; up from 35 percent in 2013 survey. One out of four respondents said Chinese authorities had put pressure on editors at headquarters in their home country over news coverage.
The FCCC’s other top concerns include :
- Interference, harassment and physical violence by authorities against foreign media during the reporting process
- Attempts by authorities to pre-empt and discourage coverage of sensitive subjects
- Intimidation and harassment of sources
- Restrictions on journalists’ movements in Tibetan-inhabited areas and Xinjiang
- Pressure directed to editors and managers at headquarters outside of China
- Cyber harassment and blocking of websites.
VISA DIFFICULTIES
In the January Bulletin, columnist Susan Kille wrote about the visa issues many reporters were experiencing in China. The FCCC conducted a separate survey specifically about visa issues released in March 2014. The organization found that Chinese authorities abuse the press card and visa renewal process in a political manner, treating journalistic accreditation as a privilege rather than a professional right, and punishing reporters and media organizations for the content of their previous coverage if it has displeased the government.
While most correspondents (89 percent) received their new residence visas within the 15 working days that the PSB had said would be necessary, 18 percent had difficulties renewing their press cards or visas – twice as many as in the last survey (covering the visa renewal process at the end of 2011.) Half of those who had difficulties said that they had been threatened with the non-renewal of their accreditation or visa because of their reporting.
Authorities withheld new press cards and visas until the very last moment from all foreign employees of The New York Times and Bloomberg, which had published articles about the private finances of relatives of leading members of the government. In the absence of any official explanation for the protracted delay in the issuance of their accreditation and visas, that delay would appear to have been intended to intimidate the bureaus concerned.