The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) is very disappointed at the minimal level of access granted to resident foreign journalists in mainland China during the just-concluded “Two Sessions” meetings in Beijing.
Chinese authorities have progressively stepped up intimidation of sources who speak to foreign media and harassed journalists on reporting trips. Now, even access to state-organized public events have been effectively cut off for foreign correspondents residing in China.
To cover the Two Sessions advisory and legislative meetings in the capital last week, correspondents had to first register online, obtain event credentials, and then apply to attend specific events and interview delegates. Many resident correspondents did not receive confirmation they had even successfully registered online until the day before the opening ceremony.
Official events remain highly curated. For example, fewer than two dozen resident correspondents (out of around 300 total correspondents in mainland China) were then invited to attend the largely-performative opening ceremony of China’s legislature. To attend, reporters had to complete a 12-hour quarantine, despite the complete relaxation of Covid controls nationwide. Correspondent requests to attend more substantive events and interview specific delegates were either ignored or denied.
“The fact that foreign reporters can freely do interviews at the sessions of China’s top legislative body and top political advisory body is best evidence against the FCCC report,” claims one state media editorial, regarding our latest media freedoms report.
The editorial’s claim is blatantly false. The vast majority of resident correspondents were only allowed to watch press events of the Two Sessions from a television screen. Instead, events such as the new premier’s and new foreign minister’s press conferences were filled with foreign journalists who told resident reporters that they had been flown in recently on Chinese state-sponsored “Belt and Road”-themed press junkets and paid-for training programs. All question-askers at press events were selected ahead of time and their questions pre-screened.
Such a faux display of press access diminishes meaningful and balanced coverage of Chinese domestic politics, to the detriment of both China and audiences globally. The FCCC asks China to grant open access to official events and to allow resident journalists to ask their own questions at press conferences.