China said yesterday it will revoke the media credentials of all American journalists at three major U.S. news organizations, in effect expelling them from the country, in response to U.S. restrictions on Chinese state-controlled media.
Beijing made it clear that these journalists would not be permitted to work in either Macau or Hong Kong in a move that prompted criticism of interference with press freedoms. At least one observer has described the move as a threat to the ‘one country, two systems’ framework, under which the two regions are guaranteed a high degree of autonomy.
The foreign ministry said American citizens working for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post with credentials expiring before the end of the year must surrender their press cards within 10 days.
It is the latest in a series of tit-for-tat actions by the two governments as the Trump administration takes a more confrontational stance in dealing with China than his predecessors. The countries remain enmeshed in a trade war despite a recent truce and have traded angry words over the coronavirus pandemic that first emerged in China and has spread worldwide.
The inclusion of the two Special Administrative Regions in the ban comes despite the fact Hong Kong and Macau have separate powers of immigration and a higher degree of press freedom under their respective Basic Laws, which underpin the “one country, two systems” principle governing relations with Beijing.
Freedom of the press is enshrined in Macau’s Basic Law under Article 27.
“Macau residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike,” the article reads.
The matter is somewhat reaffirmed in Article 126, which states that “The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region shall, on its own, formulate policies on press and publication.”
The Macau Portuguese and English Press Association (AIPIM) said it is highly concerned about the inclusion of Macau and Hong Kong in the Central Government’s decision to ban American journalists from three U.S. media outlets from working in China.
In a statement, AIPIM called for clarification on the position of non-local journalists and media outlets and asked for a guarantee that press freedom will be upheld.
“AIPIM calls for a clarification on the activity of non-local journalists and media outlets in order to ease concerns and ensure that press freedom is fully upheld as enshrined in Article 27 of the Macau Basic Law. This applies not only to local journalists and media outlets but also to non-local journalists and news organizations with their headquarters outside of Macau, as mentioned in Article 9 of the Macau Press Law,” the organization said.
“AIPIM is worried about the negative impact of the escalating tensions between the United States and China over press freedom and hopes that this situation can de-escalate and be reversed as soon as possible,” it added.
A threat to ‘one
country, two systems’
Hong Kong’s ability to determine its own immigration policy has been undermined steadily in the past few years. In 2018, the city denied a visa renewal for Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet after he hosted an event with a local independence activist at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club.
More recently, Hong Kong denied entry to Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at the time that “allowing or not allowing the entry of certain people is China’s sovereign right.”
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong yesterday questioned whether Hong Kong still had control of its immigration policy, saying in a statement that any change would mark “a serious erosion” of the one country, two systems principle.
“The Hong Kong government must immediately clarify the situation and must immediately and without reservation provide assurances that foreign journalists working in Hong Kong and those applying to work in Hong Kong will continue to be issued employment visas without interference from the Chinese government,” the group said.
“Unless, it is a matter of foreign affairs, the central government should not have a role,” added Fernando Cheung, a Hong Kong opposition lawmaker and frequent critic of Beijing, told Bloomberg. “By disallowing foreign journalists to work in Hong Kong, the Chinese central government has violated the Basic Law and the principles of ‘one country, two systems.’”
Beijing’s move targets some of the “most capable” journalists working in China, many of whom have a track record of exposing the country’s human rights violations, said William Nee, a business and human rights analyst at Amnesty International’s Hong Kong office. It’s possible Beijing “learned a lesson” from previous incidents of kicking out journalists who went on to do great work from Hong Kong, he said.
“It’s disturbing that the expelled journalists will not be able to report from Hong Kong,” Nee said. “This egregious action poses a grave threat to the ‘one country, two systems’ framework and the human rights obligations that China and the Hong Kong government must protect under international law and the Basic Law.”
Media retaliation
The Chinese move comes after the Trump administration designated five Chinese media outlets as foreign missions and restricted the number of Chinese who could work for them in a de facto expulsion of about one-third of their Chinese staff.
China described its steps as “necessary and reciprocal countermeasures that China is compelled to take in response to the unreasonable oppression the Chinese media organizations experience in the U.S.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo disputed the comparison between the U.S. and Chinese actions, telling reporters in Washington that they 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 People’s Daily editorial said Chinese reporters in America have “always adhered to U.S. laws and regulations, journalistic ethics and the principles of objectivity, fairness, truth, and accuracy.” MDT/Agencies
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