Beijing is prepared to undertake new countermeasures if the United States continues to pressure the Chinese media, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday, following the revoking of press credentials from major US newspapers by China
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2020) Beijing is prepared to undertake new countermeasures if the United States continues to pressure the Chinese media, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday, following the revoking of press credentials from major US newspapers by China.
Earlier in the month, the US State Department introduced a limit on the number of Chinese citizens allowed to work for several state-run Chinese news outlets operating in the country. In response, Beijing announced on Tuesday the expulsion of all China-based journalists from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. Washington claims Beijing's actions to be an attempt by the Chinese authorities to impede the work of journalists in the country.
"Our stance on the issue is clear and unchangeable, we urge the United States to rectify the mistakes and cease further unjustified pressure on the Chinese media. If the US follows the wrong way, China will be forced to take further countermeasures," Geng said, refusing to specify what the latter could be.
In February, China banished three Wall Street Journal reporters for publishing an opinion piece by foreign policy scholar Walter Russell Mead that was critical of China's efforts against the coronavirus disease, titled "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia." Beijing accused the piece of discrediting the Chinese fight against the disease and claimed that the headline was racist.
