French journalist in China 'must apologise or leave'

China has refused to renew the press credentials of a
French journalist, effectively expelling her, unless she
recants one of her stories, the reporter told AFP Friday,
the first such case since 2012.
Ursula Gauthier, a Beijing-based correspondent for
French news magazine L'Obs, must issue a public apology
for an article she wrote last month or China's foreign
ministry will not renew her press credentials, set to expire
on December 31, officials told Gauthier on Christmas Day.
"They confirmed that if I did not make a public
apology on all the points that had 'hurt the Chinese
people' ... my press card would not be renewed and
I would have to leave on December 31," she told
AFP.
Gauthier would be the first foreign correspondent in China
to be expelled since the 2012 expulsion of Melissa Chan,
correspondent for the English-language service of Al
Jazeera.
While the domestic media is subject to strict control and
many topics are taboo, the foreign media is free to publish
on any topic. However, foreign journalists frequently
complain of harassment by the authorities while conducting
routine reporting.
Her article in L'Obs triggered condemnation from Beijing
and a virulent campaign in the state-run Global Times and
China Daily, as well as thousands of often violent and
abusive comments from Chinese Internet users. Her photo
was published online.
Entitled "After the attacks (on Paris), Chinese solidarity is
not without ulterior motives", her essay spoke of China's
anti-terrorism policies in the country's western region of
Xinjiang, homeland of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority
-- many of whom complain of discrimination and controls
on their culture and religion.
Chinese authorities said they believed Gauthier's article
offered justification for violence in the region that the
government labels as "terrorism".
"The article criticised China's counter-terrorism
efforts, and denigrated and slandered Chinese
policies. It provoked the strong indignation of the
Chinese public," Hua Chunying, a foreign ministry
spokesperson, said at a regular press briefing in
early December.
Beijing considers condemnation of attacks in Xinjiang by
foreign governments and the international press as weak,
and has slammed Western countries for applying "double
standards" on terrorism in the wake of the attacks in
Paris.
Source: AFP