China News Service, Beijing, May 11 (Huang Yuqin and Li Jingze) In response to the US tightening the visa policy for journalists in China, Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular press conference on the 11th that the wrong practice of the US Suppressing the escalation and demanding that the US side immediately correct its mistakes, otherwise, China will have to take countermeasures against the US.
A reporter asked a question. According to reports, the US Department of Homeland Security issued a draft statement on the 8th, saying that the visa stay period of journalists from China within the United States will not exceed 90 days, and said that this move is intended to strengthen US-China equivalence. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian responded by saying that the relevant wrongdoing of the US is an escalation of political suppression of the Chinese media. We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this. For some time, the United States has adhered to the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, and has continuously escalated its suppression of Chinese media. In December 2018, the United States requested the relevant Chinese media agencies to register as "foreign agents." Since 2018, the US has refused to sign more than 20 Chinese journalists for no reason. In February 2020, the United States listed five Chinese media agencies in the United States as "foreign missions", and then imposed restrictions on the number of these five media agencies in the United States, disguised 60 Chinese media reporters in disguise, and now in Discriminatory restrictions on visas have severely interfered with the Chinese media ’s normal reporting activities in the United States and seriously interfered with the normal humanities exchanges between the two countries.
"U.S. dialects must be called equivalence. However, the validity period of the U.S. reporters’ press cards and residence certificates in China is mostly valid for one year. According to the new regulations of the U.S., the visa stay period of Chinese media journalists in the United States will not exceed 90 days. Is this equivalent? The American dialect must call for freedom of the press and maintain transparency with the media. Why are they so afraid of reporting by the Chinese media? "Zhao Lijian said.
He emphasized that the so-called "equivalence" of the US is essentially prejudice, discrimination and exclusion against the Chinese media. Under the pretext of "peer-to-peer", the US continuously upgrades the political suppression of the Chinese media, which will seriously interfere with the normal reporting activities of the Chinese media in the US. We ask the US to correct the error immediately. Otherwise, China will have to take countermeasures against the United States. (Finish)