China threatens further action against Wall Street Journal a day after kicking out three reporters
- Foreign ministry says it does not care that journalists it expelled had nothing to do with ‘racist’ article, and says it reserves right to take further measures
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemns move and says ‘mature’ countries understand newspapers are free to publish opinions
China warned on Thursday that it may take further action against The Wall Street Journal, a day after it expelled three reporters over a commentary it deemed racist.
At a daily press conference on Thursday, the foreign ministry spokesman was bombarded by questions from journalists about the decision to revoke the press credentials of the three, none of whom had been involved in the offending opinion piece, which dubbed China the “sick man of Asia”.
The paper’s deputy Beijing bureau chief Josh Chin and Chao Deng, both US nationals, and Philip Wen, an Australian, were given five days to leave the country.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the decision, saying “mature, responsible countries understand that a free press reports facts and expresses opinions”.
“The correct response is to present counter arguments, not restrict speech,” he continued.
In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the Journal has done nothing but “fudge the issue and dodge responsibility” despite “stern representation” from China.
He said “we are not interested” in the newspaper’s editorial structure, because “there is only one media agency called the WSJ, and it must be responsible for what it has said and done”.
“Those media who blatantly insult China, pitch racial discrimination and maliciously smear China must pay the price.”
China expels three Wall Street Journal reporters over ‘racist’ commentary
“We urge it to treat our concerns seriously and respond to our demands. We reserve the right to take further measures,” Geng said.
The opinion piece, written by Walter Russell Mead, a professor at Bard College in New York, and published on February 3, said the Covid-19 crisis was a reminder that China’s power remained brittle.
The headline triggered widespread condemnation among Chinese internet users, saying the term “sick man of Asia” was derogatory and stereotyped Chinese people as disease-ridden and unclean.
William Lewis, the newspaper’s publisher, said on Wednesday that the opinion piece had been published independently of newsroom and none of the three reporters had any involvement with it.
“Our opinion pages regularly publish articles with opinions that people disagree – or agree – with, and it was not our intention to cause offence with the headline on the piece,” Lewis said. “However, this has clearly caused upset and concern among the Chinese people, which we regret.”
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Although the phrase originated in the mid-19th century, when the ailing Ottoman Empire was described as the “sick man of Europe” – and been widely adopted when discussing different countries’ problems – it has humiliating echoes of the late 19th and early 20th century in China.
Geng said the article triggered “huge indignation and condemnation” and whoever “has conscience and moral standards” will condemn the racially discriminatory article.
He repeated that China deals with foreign journalists in accordance with the law, but declined to a request to set out the relevant rules.
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