Covid-19 pandemic brought the entire world to a standstill, affecting every profession and sector alike. So are the journalists, who can be seen struggling with their traveling for work, writing articles, filing them; though things are getting back to normal slowly.
However, China has used the opportunity to gag foreign media working in the country, expelling international newsmen — to the extent of what happened after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, alleged foreign scribes.
They said Chinese authorities have scaled up surveillance and harassment of journalists on account of the measures to contain Covid-19 pandemic. In the annual report 2020, Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) has blamed Chinese government for using threats, resorting to physical and digital surveillance, delaying work permits, implicating in false national security cases to “frustrate” them.
The news body has said the behaviour of Beijing government obstructing free and fair reporting goes against Chinese President Xi Jinping welcoming “journalist friends to explore” the country.
As many as 18 journalists were expelled in the first half of 2020– with many given just 10 days’ time to leave –since Chinese authorities did not like their reporting on Covid-19 outbreak and how state-agencies struggled to manage it.
Chinese authorities did not like the news stories written by foreign journalists, which did not synchronise with the China’s “propaganda machine” that struggled to regain control of the narrative around the public health disaster, the FCCC charged. Many journalists from foreign news outlets were questioned and attempted to be implicated in national security matters on charges like supplying state secrets overseas.
The FCCC alleged that China used the pandemic as a tool to control journalists by using new surveillance system – ideally to be used for health purposes – to obstruct foreign reporters from doing their job.
Foreign journalists were followed by unmarked cars, denied entry in particular areas or hotels, and even sources and interviewees were warned, threatened and abused.
Bill Birtles, who works with Australian Broadcasting Corporation, said the situation had worsened during Covid-19 times. Earlier, the foreign journalist would be deported or have their visas revoked in the worst-case scenario. Involving foreign journalists in a national security case is “unprecedented” said Birtles, highlighting the ways of intimidation now involved midnight knocks on the door and taped interrogations.
Expressing disappointment over “rapid decline in media freedom”, the FCCC said China used Covid-19 pandemic an opportunity to deny scribes entry in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibet, where cases of gross human violation are reported frequently.
Some journalists complained of hacking into their computers and mobiles, probably, by Chinese agencies. Charles Pellegrin who works for France 24 said she saw her mobile was remotely controlled and suddenly it started checking “reminders, one of which was called Wuhan pitches.”
Another journalist who wished not be named said her colleague was questioned about a story that was not published yet. Emily Feng, a journalist with NPR, said she does not call sensitive sources directly due to potential harassment by the Ministry of State Security.
“One source in particular has received threatening MSS calls at least once a week…and told that he will be jailed if any information he provided makes it into international media coverage,” Feng said. The FCCC carried out a survey involving 150-200 foreign correspondent to check how they were harassed or threatened by Chinese agencies to reign in them.
The FCCC said the harassment of journalists did not remain to just surveillance and detention but extended to denying work permits and visas. Further, journalists were made to leave country or stay in quarantine in 14 days to prevent them from working. The FCCC said Chinese authorities hinted at favourable coverage of China if they want their work permits and visas renewed.
BBC, Economist, Globe and Mail, Le Monde, New York Times, Sankei Shimbun, SüddeutscheZeitung, Telegraph, Times, Voice of America and Wall Street Journal are among the news organisations that were impacted negatively.
Even Chinese nationals working for foreign press felt the heat of Beijing government’s disliking for international news on their domestic issues.
They were subjected to regular interrogations, abuses and threats, forceful resignations and even detentions. Steven Lee Myers, who headed Beijing bureau for the New York Times before being expelled in March 2020, said, “Despite what China says about wanting to be open to the world and to show everybody what a vibrant society it is, they clearly restrict reporting of anything that doesn’t adhere to their vision. It’s suggestive of a climate that’s not going to get any better.”
