Foreign news organizations and journalists in China are facing drastically reduced staffing levels due to the increased risks and intimidation employees are facing. According to a Beijing-based journalist group, foreign employees face harassment, threats of legal action, and intimidation commonly. Almost all of the foreign journalists located in China surveyed by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China stated, in an annual assessment of working conditions, that the conditions in the country were not up to par with international standards.
The club published a report on Monday in which it stated that the Chinese state continues to find new ways to intimidate foreign correspondents via online trolling, cyber hacking, visa denials, and physical assaults. Heightened tensions between the US and China prompted each side to target journalists with restrictions, expulsions, and other actions of intimidation. Conditions in China for the foreign press appear to be worsening, according to the club’s report. China’s Foreign Ministry has not responded to requests for comments on the report.
Read More: Foreign Journalists in China Say They Face Deepening Intimidation
