China announced the disallowance of United States journalists from operating within the country particularly those working with three of its media outlets. The decision was deemed effective immediately. The reporters were compelled to return their press accreditation within ten days from the mandate if their licenses expire before 2020.
According to CNN Business, China has banned the operations of The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post journalists in the country. The mandate was to ease tensions between China and Washington.
China also requires China offices of Time and Voice of America, including the three media outlets, to disclose written reports on their finances, operations, staff rosters, and property holdings.
The journalists were compelled to surrender their press accreditation within ten days from the mandate especially those whose licenses expire before the end of the year. China has been issuing journalists with limited 12-month visas. Hence, the report claimed that the mandate could substantially impact the operations of the three US media companies. The number of journalists affected by the mandate was not, however, revealed.
The restrictions included the barring of conducting reports in mainland China and other semi-autonomous cities such as Hong Kong and Macao. The journalists were also prevented from traveling to preferred destinations by Beijing.
The said decision was made weeks after the US declared five Chinese state media outlets operated as "foreign missions." After the allegation, the US then set a limit on the number of Chinese journalists working for those entities in the United States.
The US impositions compelled Chinese media outlets to secure government approval to purchase or rent office space including the registration of personnel changes. The Chinese companies were also compelled to indicate new employees and staff departures with a State Department. The process was said to be applied to foreign diplomatic missions. The mandate took effect last week.
According to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement last Wednesday, the US government has placed unwarranted restrictions against Chinese media agencies and personnel working in its jurisdictions. He also said that the US has deliberately made business more difficult for them and subjected these personnel to growing discrimination and politically-motivated oppression.
The US department did not respond to China's notions, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed the concern at a press conference. He said that China has restricted the world's ability to engage in free press operations. He also suggested that the Chinese restrictions would be detrimental to the Chinese citizens who need transparency and access to general information during trying times.
