China yesterday informed two Indian journalists in Beijing that their journalistic visas had been “frozen”. 

The two journalists – the Hindu’s Beijing correspondent Ananth Krishnan and Prasar Bharati journalist Anshuman Mishra – are both presently in India and were told “not to return” to China, the Hindu reported. The journalists learned of these developments through an official from China’s ministry of foreign affairs.

The report said China was “reportedly demanding more visas for its correspondents to cover India” and asking for longer visa tenures.

According to Hindustan Times, two Indian journalists currently in China – HT’s Sutirtho Patranobis and PTI’s KJM Verma – were told by foreign ministry officials that they could “stay on for now”. HT alleged that the Hindu’s Krishnan had been “stopped at the airport and questioned by Chinese authorities for almost 30 minutes while he was returning to India on March 31”.

The Hindu noted there are only “about four Chinese journalists” based in India as of the end of 2022.

Earlier this year, foreign correspondents in India told Newslaundry about the difficulties they faced – threats, no access to areas like Kashmir, and short-term visas. One journalist even said they “feel unsafe after a sensitive story is published”. Read all about it here.