US newspapers urge China not to expel their journalists
Source: AP
BEIJING (AP) — The publishers of three major American newspapers have written an open letter asking China to reverse its recent decision to expel many of their correspondents working in the country.
The letter posted online Tuesday referred to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, saying the expulsions threaten access to information at a time when it is needed most. It was signed by the publishers of The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
“This move — made in retaliation for recent expulsions by the United States government — is one that we would protest under any circumstances,” they wrote. “But it is uniquely damaging and reckless as the world continues the struggle to control this disease, a struggle that will require the free flow of reliable news and information.”
China said last week that most Americans working for the three publications would have to surrender their press cards within 10 days. The move followed a Trump administration decision to limit the number of visas for Chinese working for China’s major state media in the U.S.
The New York Times Beijing based correspondent Steven Lee Myers, left, chats with other foreign journalists after attending a daily briefing by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing, Wednesday, March 18, 2020. At least 13 American journalists stand to be expelled from China in retaliation for a new limit imposed by the Trump administration on visas for Chinese state-owned media operating in the U.S. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Read more: https://apnews.com/effffed56e85453cd1cb502e196311ba
