The level of harassment and threats foreign journalists based in China are facing today is worse than ever, some are saying, following the expulsion of a reporter from Qatar-based TV network Al-Jazeera and comments by a top TV show host that exposed an alarming xenophobic streak within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In a message posted on the popular China-based microblog Sina Weibo last week, Yang Rui (楊銳), host of the popular show Dialogue, which is aired on state-owned China Central Television (CCTV), shared his views on how China should rid itself of “foreign trash,” a reference to a recent campaign launched by the Public Security Bureau that targets foreigners who work illegally in the country.
“Cut off the foreign snake heads. People who can’t find jobs in the US and Europe come to China to grab our money, engage in human trafficking and spread deceitful lies to encourage emigration,” he wrote in Chinese. “Foreign spies seek out Chinese girls to mask their espionage and pretend to be tourists, while compiling maps and GPS data for Japan, [South] Korea and the West.”
Yang then commented on the expulsion of Melissa Chan, Beijing bureau chief for the English-language service of Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera, who was forced to leave China after the state refused to renew her visa over its anger at some critical reports made by the news organization.
“We kicked out that foreign bitch and closed Al-Jazeera’s Beijing bureau. We should shut up those who demonize China and send them packing,” wrote Yang, a fluent English speaker who often invites foreign guests on his show.
While his remarks were derided by some Chinese netizens, foreign reporters who operate in China regarded the incident as a sign of deterioration in their working environments.
They said that unlike privately owned media, CCTV was an apparatus of the state and that the failure of its management to force Yang to apologize or to punish him for his comments signified Beijing condoned his behavior. Had a host on a state-owned program in the West made similar remarks against a female reporter, he or she would surely have been reprimanded, some said, adding that it made no sense to judge CCTV by different standards.
Following his derogatory remarks targeting Chan, Yang turned his sights on another foreigner — Charlie Custer, author of the popular ChinaGeeks blog — for accusing Yang of xenophobia.
“Custer seriously damaged my reputation and I retain the right to sue him. This affair is entirely the result of his malicious speculation and he is inciting racial hatred. I can see his eyes are filled with anti-Chinese hatred,” he wrote on Sina Weibo, in comments that have since been removed.
Foreign reporters based in China, who refused to be named for this article, were divided on Yang’s influence, referring to him as a “complex” character and a nationalist who cared deeply about China while being aware of the challenges it faces. However, most agreed that the situation in China was getting worse for foreign reporters and some said it was reminiscent of fascism in Europe, saying also that the situation had become the worst they had seen since they began reporting there.
All agreed that Yang should be reprimanded for his attack on Chan and that failure to do so would severely damage China’s soft power and only invite more of the “negative” reporting Beijing often complains about.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all