China withholds visas for US journalists after critical stories

Chinese authorities have been withholding residence visas for reporters working for the New York Times and Bloomberg in apparent retaliation for the agencies' investigative stories on wealth accumulated by leaders' families.

Should the government not soon begin approving renewals for visas due to expire by the end of the year, it would effectively shut down the two organisations’ newsgathering operations in the country.

Both American news organisations have had their sites blocked in China since late last year, after each published detailed investigative reports exposing the wealth amassed by the relatives of Chinese leaders – including president Xi Jinping and former premier Wen Jiabao. Journalists at both organisations could face expulsion this month if the visas are not issued.

Press pass
Every year, foreign reporters in China, including this correspondent, have to renew their journalist visas. Until this year the process involved getting your press pass renewed by the foreign ministry, then handing in your passport to the Public Security Bureau to get the journalist visa, a process that took about eight working days.

This year the process takes 18 working days – the foreign ministry process is the same but the Public Security Bureau now requires 15 working days to process the visa.

A further complication is that the visa renewal process must begin 30 days before the expiry of the visa.

This has caused resentment among foreign journalists as it means many will be without a passport at a busy news period in the region, and also many will not be able to go home for the holiday period.

JPMorgan revelations
Some of the Times journalists who have been threatened with expulsion had handed in their passports and been given receipts, only to be told to take back their empty passports and contact the foreign ministry after the newspaper ran a report last month detailing ties between JPMorgan Chase and a consultancy in China run by Mr Wen's daughter.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China said it was disturbed by the situation.

“In particular we have found that the Chinese authorities are increasingly using the denial of visas, or delays in their approval, in an apparent effort to influence journalists’ coverage,” the FCCC said in a statement to members.

The New York Times China bureau chief, Philip Pan, has been waiting for more than 18 months for a visa, while correspondent Chris Buckley has been in Hong Kong awaiting a visa for a year.

During his visit last week, US vice president Joe Biden met journalists working in Beijing and publicly criticised their treatment by the Chinese government, and he also raised the issue directly with president Xi.