Al-Jazeera closes Beijing bureau after reporter expelled
Al-Jazeera English has closed its Beijing bureau after the Chinese authorities refused to renew the press credentials of its correspondent or grant a visa for a replacement, the TV station said on Tuesday. Journalist groups said the expulsion of Melissa Chan - who has been reporting from Beijing for five years - is a grave threat to the ability of foreign reporters to work in China. The Chinese authorities have yet to make a statement about the closure of the bureau, but immigration officers say privately that Chan's visa has not been renewed because she violated regulations. They did not elaborate. Al-Jazeera's coverage has also upset the authorities.
Chan, an American citizen, worked for al-Jazeera English, a 24-hour news channel with its headquarters in the Middle East that was launched in 2006. In those early months, Beijing officials expressed hope that the non-western media organisation and its ethnically Chinese reporter would provide a more positive view of their country than other foreign news groups. Since then, Chan has covered a range of stories, including several hard-hitting reports on secret "black jails", the harrassment of Liu Xia, the wife of the Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, official corruption and the grief of families who lost children during the Sichuan earthquake.
In a statement, al-Jazeera English said its reporting from China had been first class and consistent with the channel's perspective in all countries. "We constantly cover the voice of the voiceless and sometimes that calls for tough news coverage from anywhere in world. We hope China appreciates the integrity of our news coverage and our journalism. We value this journalist integrity in our coverage of all countries in the world," said Salah Negm, director of news. Negm said al-Jazeera English would try to reopen the bureau and called upon the Chinese authorities to accept that coverage is sometimes critical. "We are committed to our coverage of China. Just as China news services cover the world freely we would expect that same freedom in China for any al-Jazeera journalist."
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said it was appalled by Chan's expulsion. "This is the most extreme example of a recent pattern of using journalist visas in an attempt to censor and intimidate foreign correspondents in China," the club said in a statement...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/08/al-jazeera-closes-beijing-bureau
Chan, an American citizen, worked for al-Jazeera English, a 24-hour news channel with its headquarters in the Middle East that was launched in 2006. In those early months, Beijing officials expressed hope that the non-western media organisation and its ethnically Chinese reporter would provide a more positive view of their country than other foreign news groups. Since then, Chan has covered a range of stories, including several hard-hitting reports on secret "black jails", the harrassment of Liu Xia, the wife of the Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, official corruption and the grief of families who lost children during the Sichuan earthquake.
In a statement, al-Jazeera English said its reporting from China had been first class and consistent with the channel's perspective in all countries. "We constantly cover the voice of the voiceless and sometimes that calls for tough news coverage from anywhere in world. We hope China appreciates the integrity of our news coverage and our journalism. We value this journalist integrity in our coverage of all countries in the world," said Salah Negm, director of news. Negm said al-Jazeera English would try to reopen the bureau and called upon the Chinese authorities to accept that coverage is sometimes critical. "We are committed to our coverage of China. Just as China news services cover the world freely we would expect that same freedom in China for any al-Jazeera journalist."
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said it was appalled by Chan's expulsion. "This is the most extreme example of a recent pattern of using journalist visas in an attempt to censor and intimidate foreign correspondents in China," the club said in a statement...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/08/al-jazeera-closes-beijing-bureau
