China puts ‘unprecedented’ pressure on foreign journalists: press group

Legal threats, online trolls and dwindling numbers are changing the risk landscape in unfamiliar ways, according to FCCC annual report

Member survey finds news organisations are developing exit plans in the face of state-backed attacks

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The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China in its annual report says its members face increasing threats. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:42am, 31 Jan 2022

Foreign journalists in China are facing “unprecedented hurdles”, including threats of legal action, online troll campaigns and dwindling numbers, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC).

In its annual report, the press group said Beijing appears to be “encouraging a spate of lawsuits”, or the threat of legal action, against foreign journalists, which are often filed long after sources agreed to interviews.

“The risk landscape is changing at the moment in unfamiliar ways,” said David Rennie, Beijing bureau chief for The Economist, in the report.

“In particular, news organisations face warnings that their reporting may expose them to legal sanctions or civil lawsuits, or – most ominously – to national security investigations,” he added.

This marks a “worrying” shift from earlier tools to control the media, such as blacklisting them from events or via problems with press cards and visas, he said.

The increased threats of legal action come after the 2020 detention of Australian TV anchor Cheng Lei, who worked for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, and Haze Fan of Bloomberg News.