Beijing Review Designated ‘Foreign Mission’ as U.S. Ramps UpChinese Media Suppression

　　The U.S. State Department has designated the U.S. operations of six more Chinese media companies as “foreign missions.” According to a list provided to the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., the six media outlets are Beijing Review, Economic Daily, Jiefang Daily, Social Sciences in China Press, Xinmin Evening News and Yicai Global (also known as China Business Network).

　　At a press briefing on October 21, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the move was aimed at “pushing back on Chinese Communist propaganda efforts here at home.”

　　In a letter sent to Beijing Review, the State Department said Beijing Review’s U.S. bureau has to register details about its property and travels and visits by its employees with the U.S. Government. It is tantamount to imposing political surveillance over the daily lives of Chinese reporters in the U.S.Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian responded on October 22, saying that the U.S. had made the move based on a Cold War mentality and ideological bias, adding that the designation has seriously affected China’s media operation in the U.S. and disrupted cultural exchanges between the two countries.

　　Associated Press called it “a move that will further foment tensions in already deteriorating ties between the world’s two largest economies as President Donald Trump seeks to boost his anti-China credentials ahead of November’s election.”

　　Beijing Review, established in 1958, is China’s only national news magazine in English. Its raison d’etre is to facilitate communication between China and the rest of world by providing timely, accurate and firsthand information on economic, political and cultural developments in China. Since the first issue, it has been considered as a firsthand source on China. As of this month, 15 Chinese media entities have been listed as “foreign missions” by the U.S.

　　The adding of the six media entities is the most recent activity by the U.S. to escalate tensions with China. Aside from engineering the arrest of Chinese telecom company Huawei’s chief financial officer in Canada, the Trump administration has closed China’s Consulate General in Houston, cooked up the conspiracy theory that a Chinese lab produced the novel coronavirus, indicted several Chinese citizens on espionage charges and kicked out 60 U.S.-based Chinese journalists. It has imposed strict limits on the travels of Chinese diplomats, designated the Confucius Institutes that promote educational and cultural links as “foreign missions,” and meddled in Hong Kong and Xinjiang affairs.

　　We strongly urge the U.S. to stop its political oppression and arbitrary restrictions on Chinese media organizations and bring China-U.S. relations back on track.

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