The European Union Delegation to China issued a statement on Tuesday expressing its concern about the growing harassment and intimidation of foreign journalists in China, as reported in the annual report of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association in China (FCCC).
The EU Delegation to China stressed that the Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and publication, and that the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression and to seek, receive and impart information regardless of frontiers. The EU expressed solidarity with foreign journalists in China, who play an important role in transmitting information across national borders and promoting mutual understanding between the EU and China, and called on the Chinese side to ensure compliance with its obligations under the Constitution and international law.
According to the Central News Agency, the Foreign Correspondents’ Association in China (FCA) detailed in its annual report on Monday the harassment by the Chinese authorities to prevent foreign media reporters from their legitimate editorial work. Among other things, foreign journalists in China are increasingly facing visa restrictions from the authorities. Cheng Lei, an Australian citizen who works for China’s official media, and Fan Ruo Yi, a Chinese staffer for Bloomberg News, were both detained by authorities last year on suspicion of endangering national security.
The report by the Foreign Correspondents’ Association in China notes that China’s official propaganda machine is trying to regain control of the narrative of the Epidemic disaster and is using the epidemic as another means of controlling journalists.
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