Beijing (Foreign Correspondents Club of China) 02/09/2022 00:11
Beijing uses algorithms to whitewash its image and attack the West
- Foreign journalists face “unprecedented obstacles” due to Beijing’s crackdown
- The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief David Rainey is concerned about the new law on trials and lawsuits
The Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) has confirmed that foreign journalists face “unprecedented hurdles” as Beijing clamps down on “preventing independent reporting and slandering its reputation”.
And a report by the Voice of America website indicated that “media coverage of China’s affairs has become conducted remotely, following the increasing number of journalists who have been forced by Beijing to leave the country due to excessive intimidation or direct expulsion.”
The report notes that foreign journalists are routinely monitored online and in the cities in which they reside, and their troubles are also increased by encouraging the Chinese authorities to file lawsuits or threatening legal action against them, noting that these cases are being filed by some of the sources that used them. Foreign journalists long after they agreed to give interviews or make statements.
In the past, the main tools used to control the media included access restrictions, blacklisting of events, or problems with press cards and visas, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief David Rainey said.
The report pointed out that foreign correspondents unable to stay in China left to work in Taiwan, Singapore, Sydney and London, after Hong Kong became an unsuitable option due to Beijing’s crackdown on the press under the National Security Act of 2020, which was widely used to arrest Local journalists were imprisoned.
China obstructs the work of the rest of the journalists working in American news organizations by refusing to renew the press cards of reporters, knowing that at least 22 journalists from the United States, Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan and New Zealand reside, and their conditions have become unstable after the period of residence permits was reduced from a year to two or three months.
The report adds that the authorities are using strict anti-epidemic measures in China to delay visa approvals for journalists, which has left many news organizations suffering from a shortage of staff, and the report states in the words of Chinese journalist Zhang Ping (pseudonym): “China believes that it is at the center of the world.” Now you want more positive reporting on how Chinese President Xi Jinping is directing to change the world,” while another pseudonymous journalist also noted that China uses algorithms to show anti-Western articles defending China, describing it his way, “It’s like they are forcing you to eat food.” she does not want him”.
