US mulls expelling Chinese journalists after Beijing kicks out Wall Street Journal reporters
- Three Americans were ordered to leave after newspaper refused to apologise for ‘sick man of Asia’ opinion piece
- There are more than 500 reporters from Chinese outlets in US, compared to 75 American journalists in China
The US is weighing whether to expel Chinese journalists after China kicked out three Wall Street Journal reporters, part of a push by the Trump administration to show leaders in Beijing that it will resist restrictions on Americans working in China.
The administration’s options were to be discussed in a meeting of senior administration leaders at the White House later Monday led by Matt Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser who was once a Wall Street Journal reporter in Beijing, according to US officials familiar with the deliberations.
There is an intense debate over how severely to respond to the expulsions last week. Some advocate ordering dozens – and perhaps hundreds – of Chinese reporters to leave, while others say that is not legally possible or in keeping with American values on freedom of the press, according to several of the officials.
While declining to comment on specific actions under consideration, John Ullyot, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Friday that China’s move against the American reporters was an “egregious act”.
“This expulsion is yet another attempt to control the press, and prevent the world’s readers as well as investors from reading important stories about China,” Ullyot said.