A French reporter forced to leave China after she was accused of supporting terrorism for criticizing government policy in violence-wracked, mainly Muslim Xinjiang, was preparing to leave yesterday.
Beijing refused to renew the credentials of Ursula Gauthier, the China correspondent for France’s L’Obs news magazine, after she wrote an article questioning official comparisons between global terrorism and the unrest in the homeland of the Uighur ethnic minority.
Gauthier had “a very strong feeling of surreality” on her final day in Beijing, she said as she carried out her final packing and finished an article ahead of going to the airport for a late-night flight before her visa expired.
“Everything which happened was so quick and strange,” she added.
In her story, Gauthier questioned China’s motives in expressing sympathy for the victims of the Nov. 13 Paris terror attacks, writing that they were calculated to tie Beijing’s harsh policies in Xinjiang into the fight against global terrorism.
The veteran reporter, who has spent years in China, suggested that violence by Uighurs against civilians in the region — where clashes have killed hundreds in the past few years — was in part driven by resentment of government policies.
“I didn’t write that I supported terrorism, I never supported terrorism in my article,” Gauthier said. “I was simply explaining that the Uighurs’ anger came from somewhere, just like we can explain the origin of the anger of young Arabs who become radicalized, there are roots to it.”
Gauthier views her treatment as an attempt “to intimidate foreign correspondents in China, particularly on issues concerning minorities, especially in Tibet and Xinjiang.”
Chinese media and officials heavily criticized her article, with the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Global Times saying it “severely distorted the reality in Xinjiang” and represented a “double standard” on terrorism.
The journalist said her home address was posted online alongside death threats from angry readers.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said she “flagrantly championed acts of terrorism... triggering the Chinese people’s outrage.”
Foreign correspondents’ visas in China are tied to their official credentials, so the ministry’s refusal to renew her press card meant her right to remain in the nation expired yesterday.
The decision to effectively expel Gauthier has been widely criticized by press freedom groups, such as Reporters Without Borders.
“The government is yet again putting pressure on journalists who criticize its policies,” the organization said in a statement last week.
“This is an unacceptable attack on freedom of information and creates a real obstacle for journalism in China,” L’Obs director Matthieu Croissandeau said.
France said that the denial of a visa was “regrettable.”
Le Monde in an article signed by editors and reporters from multiple French media outlets said the expulsion was “unjustifiable,” calling on the French government to make a stronger protest.
France’s current focus on improving economic ties with China “guaranteed in a way that Paris would allow Ms Gauthier to be expelled without making too much of a fuss,” it said. “The lack of firmness of the French authorities is irresponsible.”
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