China expels al-Jazeera reporter as media relations sour
Source: WaPo
By Keith B. Richburg, Updated: Tuesday, May 8, 5:55 AM
BEIJING China has expelled an American journalist working for the English-language arm of al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite television network whose broadcasts shattered the information monopolies of authoritarian Arab governments and played a pivotal role in the Arab Spring uprisings that began early last year.
In a statement issued by the stations Qatar headquarters, al-Jazeera said it has had to close its English language bureau in Beijing after Chinese authorities refused to renew the visa and press credentials of correspondent Melissa Chan. The expulsion does not affect the networks separate Arabic-language bureau.
Chan, a 31-year-old from California, had reported from Beijing for al-Jazeera since 2007. She left Beijing Monday on a flight to Los Angeles.
The Foreign Correspondents Club of China, or FCCC, protested the expulsion, describing it as the most extreme example of a recent pattern of using journalist visas in an attempt to censor and intimidate foreign correspondents. An FCCC statement said foreign news organizations, not the Chinese government, have the right to choose who works for them in China, in line with international standards.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-expels-al-jazeera-reporter-as-media-relations-sour/2012/05/08/gIQAlip49T_story.html
Prometheus Bound
(3,489 posts)I do remember he was a journalist and that he moved to China. And I remember him saying one day he was spreading democracy in China. And I wondered about the advisability of stating it in public like that. And I haven't seen him here in a long time.
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)i have no doubt the du would`t get past the chinese firewalls. or he might have decided to do this on his own. yup i miss his posts and will never forget his trials and tribulations during his bachelorhood in canada.
Suji to Seoul
(2,035 posts)Prometheus Bound
(3,489 posts)But still wondering about HeyHey.