China supports its media organizations in safeguarding reputation, interests

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- China supports Chinese media organizations in safeguarding their reputation and interests in the face of accelerated discrimination and politically-motivated oppression by the United States, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Thursday.

Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a press conference in response to a question regarding discriminatory restrictions the United States has imposed on Chinese journalists regarding visas, administrative reviews and reporting, and China's reciprocal countermeasures.

The All-China Journalists Association and some Chinese media have recently released relevant messages on the U.S. discriminatory restrictions targeting Chinese journalists, Geng said, noting that in recent years, the U.S. government had placed unwarranted restrictions on Chinese media organizations and personnel in the United States, purposely made things difficult for their normal reporting assignments, and had been continuously accelerated discrimination and politically-motivated oppression targeting the Chinese media outlets.

The normal lives and work of Chinese journalists in the United States have been severely disrupted, and many of them were unable to return to work in the United States after they took a vacation in China as the U.S. side refused to issue the visas for no reason.

In December 2018, the United States ordered certain Chinese media organizations in the United States to register as "foreign agents." In February 2020, it designated five Chinese media entities in the United States as "foreign missions" and imposed a cap on the number of their employees, in effect expelling Chinese journalists from the United States.

These facts fully exposed the hypocrisy and deceptiveness of the U.S. self-styled advocate of press freedom, Geng said, adding that China has lodged solemn representations to the U.S. side over its wrongdoing, and China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the U.S. move.

"We support Chinese media organizations in firmly safeguarding their reputation and interests," Geng said. "The Chinese side will be compelled to take countermeasures on U.S. media reporters in China in accordance with the principle of reciprocity."