Last Indian journalist in China asked to leave within this month

The sole remaining Indian journalist on Chinese soil has been asked to leave the country within the current month, Bloomberg reported on Monday. It cited sources as saying that Chinese authorities have asked the Press Trust of India correspondent to depart. A Hindustan Times reporter in China also left the country over the weekend.  

One Chinese journalist operates from India at present, who is also awaiting visa renewal, as per the Chinese foreign ministry’s statements last month.

In recent times, both the countries have denied visa renewals to at least two journalists of the other country. The Wall Street Journal had reported last month that India and China were “virtually wiping out media access” to each other by ejecting each other’s journalists.

India had four journalists in China till early this year. In April, China ‘froze’ the visas of two Indian journalists, the Hindu’s Beijing correspondent and a Prasar Bharati journalist. They were allegedly told “not to return” to China. Meanwhile, two other Indian journalists, the Hindustan Times reporter and the PTI journalist in China were told they can “stay for now”. Read about it here.

Days after reports of the two countries ejecting each other’s journalists, India’s ministry of external affairs had pointed out that Indian journalists in China have been facing “certain difficulties”.

Indian journalists are not permitted to “hire locals” as correspondents or journalists and face “several restrictions” while getting access and “traveling locally” in China, the MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said, Newslaundry reported.

He had emphasised that all foreign journalists, “including Chinese journalists”, have been engaging in journalistic activities in India “without any limitations or difficulties”.

Earlier, India had rejected the visa renewal applications of two journalists from Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television.