By Reuters
Joe Biden on Press Freedom in China: While on an official visit to China, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. criticized China's treatment of journalists and urged the Chinese government to allow for more freedoms.
BEIJING — China appears ready to force nearly two dozen journalists from American news organizations to leave the country by the end of the year, a significant increase in pressure on foreign news media that has prompted the American government's first public warning about repercussions.
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. raised the issue here in meetings with President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese leaders, and then publicly chastised the Chinese on Thursday for refusing to say if they will renew the visas of correspondents and for blocking the websites of American-based news media.
"Innovation thrives where people breathe freely, speak freely, are able to challenge orthodoxy, where newspapers can report the truth without fear of consequences," Mr. Biden said in a speech to an American business group.
At a meeting on Thursday with Beijing-based reporters from The New York Times and Bloomberg, Mr. Biden said that he warned Chinese leaders, in a formal session and over dinner, that there would be consequences for China, especially in the Congress, if it forced out the journalists. But he said Mr. Xi appeared unmoved, insisting that the authorities treated reporters according to Chinese law.
Between them, The Times and Bloomberg have nearly two dozen journalists whose visas are up for renewal by the end of the month, and China has declined to act on them.
The growing tension with China over its treatment of American news media outlets comes at a moment when Washington and Beijing are increasingly at odds and publicly more critical of each other than at any time in recent memory.
The Obama administration has refused to recognize China's recently declared air defense identification zone over disputed territory with Japan — a subject that dominated Mr. Biden's visit — and the countries have sparred over what Washington regards as the organized daily intrusion into United States government and industry computer systems by Chinese entities, mostly to steal intellectual property. A two-day summit meeting in June between President Obama and Mr. Xi, intended to calm the tensions, was followed by a series of actions that have accentuated the rivalry between the world's established superpower and its fastest-rising competitor.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, responding to Mr. Biden, said on Thursday that it managed foreign reporters "according to law and regulations." A spokesman, Hong Lei, said, "As for foreign correspondents' living and working environments in China, I think as long as you hold an objective and impartial attitude, you will arrive at the right conclusion."
Chinese officials have all but said that American reporters know what they need to do to get their visas renewed: tailor their coverage.
The Times has been in regular contact with the Obama administration on the issue; with time running out on the current visas for its correspondents, repeated efforts to obtain new ones have so far been unsuccessful.
Jill Abramson, The Times's executive editor, said in an interview that "unfettered coverage of China is a crucial issue" and that she was determined to continue "the highest quality journalism about China," whether or not the visas were renewed. Asked about the Chinese argument that its authorities were enforcing laws that apply to all journalists in China, she noted, "Our laws make clear there is respect for freedom of expression."
A spokesman for Bloomberg News declined to comment.
Over the decades, there have been periodic crackdowns on news organizations in China. But the pressure has increased since China emerged as the world's second-largest economy, and scrutiny of its government and business practices — and Western-style investigative reporting — has led the Chinese government to both protest and threaten foreign news organizations.
Chinese officials have privately told reporters that the refusal to deal with their visa applications was linked to their reporting. Mr. Biden intervened during his trip, his aides said, partly out of a concern that Beijing might be trying to drive entire news bureaus — including The Times and Bloomberg — out of the country and harm their business prospects in one of the world's most booming news markets.
Mark Landler reported from Beijing, and David E. Sanger from Washington. Edward Wong contributed reporting from Washington.
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