Residents lay flowers to mourn victims following a malicious car-ramming incident at Zhuhai Sports Center in Guangdong, China. (Video screenshot from the internet)
[People News] Journalists from British and Japanese media faced obstruction and even violence while reporting on the car-ramming incident outside the Zhuhai Sports Center in China. Police also demanded they delete their footage. This incident highlights the increasingly harsh environment for foreign journalists in China. International journalism organizations have noted that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views foreign reporters as primary targets for suppression, aiming to prevent social phenomena from escalating into political events. The CCP has systematically targeted and arrested independent local journalists and foreign media, making independent investigations nearly impossible.
According to video footage from the BBC, Stephen McDonell, the BBC's China correspondent, was reporting outside the Zhuhai Sports Center on November 11 regarding the car-ramming incident that killed 35 people. An unidentified plainclothes man approached from behind, attempting to block the camera and push McDonell away, demanding he "stop filming." When McDonell asked the man not to interfere, the man retorted, "I am a Chinese citizen. Do you have a press pass to film in China?" He continued disrupting the reporting process.
According to a report by Voice of America, on November 13, Matthew McDevitt described his personal experience in an article titled "When Terrible Things Happen, China's First Instinct Is to Block It." He mentioned that security personnel were instructed to monitor journalists, not only by photographing them but also by making real-time reports over the phone and tracking their actions. Ultimately, the security personnel interfered with on-site news reporting in a forceful manner.
McDonell wrote in his article: "When such sensitive events occur in China, local officials often organize a group of cadres to pose as angry locals whose job is to target foreign reporters and block any coverage. These actions don't stop reporting but only make China look worse."
Similarly, Yota Mukai, a reporter for Japan's TBS, shared on social media platform X that on November 12, while filming at the sports center, he was surrounded by individuals claiming to be local residents and reported to the police. Mukai was taken to the police station for questioning and forced to delete all recorded footage.
Challenges for Foreign Media Reporting in China
Chen Wei (pseudonym), a Beijing-based foreign journalist who spoke with Voice of America on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic, stated that the current environment for journalism in China is "poor." This is due to both pandemic-related restrictions and tighter controls on foreign media by authorities.
Chen Wei described being frequently stopped by police at news scenes for ID checks, where officers verify press credentials and passports. Filming is only permitted if the journalist has proper authorization and the area is not designated as restricted or "dangerous." Otherwise, even those with valid press credentials are often prohibited from filming.
Chen Wei noted that reporting in Beijing has become increasingly difficult. Many events are closed to foreign media, including state visits by foreign leaders at the Great Hall of the People. In the past, foreign journalists could register to cover visits by their home country’s leaders, but now access is limited to pre-packaged footage and materials provided through an "external media resource pool."
A more troubling trend is the shift in public perception of foreign media among ordinary Chinese citizens. Many believe that foreign media report on China with a "biased perspective," portraying the country in a negative light. This perception has led to a reluctance among citizens to cooperate with media interview requests.
The CCP Views Foreign Media as a "Threat to Regime Stability"
Aleksandra Bielakowska, Advocacy Officer at Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) East Asia Bureau in Taipei, noted a significant increase in "red line" taboo topics for journalists in China. Reporters are not only required to adhere to official narratives on sensitive issues but are also subject to censorship even on topics of public interest such as natural disasters, traffic accidents, or other incidents.
"Foreign journalists are unwelcome and face increasing pressure from the authorities," Bielakowska told Voice of America. "They endure daily harassment, surveillance, stalking, and monitoring by police, making their work increasingly difficult and reporting nearly impossible."
Journalists often face police obstruction, are barred from entering scenes of events, prevented from attending certain activities, and restricted from traveling to sensitive regions. Sources are also threatened against sharing information with reporters. The CCP uses a "weaponized" visa policy to restrict entry for foreign journalists, particularly those who report on topics the regime deems sensitive.
Bielakowska emphasized that the CCP considers independent journalism a "threat to regime stability" and employs harassment, surveillance, and visa restrictions to limit foreign reporters' activities. Sources are also pressured not to provide any information, and journalists are left reporting only on events already controlled or manipulated by the authorities. The regime spares no effort in suppressing incidents that could lead to social unrest and ensures no evidence of such events is exposed.
She pointed out that press freedom has been under unprecedented attack since Xi Jinping took power in 2012, likening China’s current media control to the era of Mao Zedong. "The right to freely access and disseminate information is increasingly treated as a crime," she stated. According to RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index, China ranks 172 out of 180 countries, making it the largest "prison for journalists," with 124 independent reporters currently detained.
Despite this, Bielakowska stressed the indispensable role of foreign journalists in China in providing the world with an understanding of the country. As one of the most important global economic powers, international society cannot allow the CCP to be the sole source of information.
She called on democratic countries to continue pressuring Beijing to stop interfering with foreign media and their sources, warning that failure to do so risks China becoming another North Korea, where journalism is synonymous with state propaganda.
Journalism in China: A High-Risk Profession
Kevin Slaten, director of the China Dissident Monitor at Freedom House, described journalism in China as a high-risk profession. He noted that reporting on-site entails varying degrees of danger due to uncertainty over whether the CCP will classify an event as a threat to social stability, making normal journalistic work unpredictable and fraught with challenges.
When incidents perceived as harmful to social stability or politically risky occur, the CCP activates its "stability maintenance" mechanisms, including deploying public security officers to the scene, controlling participants or victims’ families, and censoring online speech that deviates from the official narrative.
One key mechanism is to prevent journalists from investigating the deeper causes or aftermath of events, which could provide the public with greater understanding. Foreign journalists often face police or plainclothes officers obstructing, harassing, stalking, and intimidating them. In some cases, reporters encounter outright violence, such as during the 2022 Shanghai street protests, when a BBC journalist was beaten and detained by police.
The "stability maintenance" approach aims to prevent social incidents from becoming politicized and to block journalists from exploring the political underpinnings of events. The ultimate goal is to avoid discussions linking social phenomena to government policies or decisions. In contrast to more open countries, where journalists play a crucial role in fostering transparency, the CCP seeks to stifle such discussions.
The regime’s tight control over news has also shaped public attitudes toward foreign media. "Chinese citizens distrust foreign reporters," Slaten told Voice of America. "From the CCP’s nationalist perspective, other countries aim to hinder China’s development and rise, and nationalists may mistakenly believe foreign reporters are extensions of those governments."
Additionally, fear of the party-state’s control over information and narratives discourages many Chinese citizens from cooperating with foreign media. Those who agree to interviews may face police visits afterward, and in China’s lawless environment, they risk arbitrary detention or prosecution for "saying too much."
FCCC Report: Over 80% of Journalists in China Face Interference
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC), based in Beijing, declined an interview request from Voice of America regarding the obstruction of foreign journalists but provided public statements and survey reports on the issue.
On February 27, Sjoerd den Daas, a journalist for the Dutch public broadcaster NOS, was covering investor protests against Sichuan Trust in Chengdu. He and his cameraman were subjected to violent treatment by plainclothes personnel and police, forcibly taken into a police car, and had their phones and cameras confiscated.
On March 1, the FCCC issued a statement urging Chinese authorities to uphold their legal commitments and ensure foreign journalists' unrestricted right to report within China.
On April 8, the FCCC released its 2023 report on the media environment in China, titled "The Masks Are Off, but Barriers Remain." The report highlighted frequent harassment of foreign media, with over half of the journalists surveyed reporting obstruction by police or officials during their work. Additionally, 45% of respondents experienced interference from unidentified individuals, and 37% canceled assignments due to pressure from officials.
The survey revealed that 81% of journalists in China have faced interference, harassment, or violence. The report noted that foreign reporters encountering no issues during their work in China is "the exception." Nearly all foreign media outlets believe the conditions for journalism in China have never met international standards.
Currently, no relevant information about obstruction of foreign journalists can be found on Chinese social media platform Weibo. However, a YouTube comment under a BBC news segment by a user in Hong Kong, "uuanimetemporary," stated: "I am from mainland China. Trust me, that person is definitely not an ordinary citizen. He even knows about 'press credentials.' Without a doubt, he’s with the police or a PR department. Even his obstruction tactics are textbook."
Another user, "different think," observed: "Judging from the man’s practiced interference (blocking the camera lens) and language (asking about press credentials and shouting 'get out'), which are typical methods used by mainland Chinese law enforcement, he is not just a hired hand or an ordinary citizen. He is undoubtedly plainclothes law enforcement."
While foreign journalists frequently face interference, such incidents receive little to no coverage in Chinese media. However, a rare exception occurred on November 14, when Xiaoxiang Morning News reported that two Economic Information Daily journalists (a Xinhua-affiliated outlet) were attacked while investigating allegations of corner-cutting in a high-speed rail project. The topic "Two Investigative Journalists Attacked During Reporting, Phones Snatched" quickly trended to second place on Weibo, amassing over 25 million views.
On the same day, the All-China Journalists Association issued a statement emphasizing its commitment to protecting journalists' lawful rights to conduct legitimate reporting.
(Reproduced from Voice of America.)
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