Chinese state media are defending the government's decision earlier this week to expel Al-Jazeera reporter Melissa Chan, who's believed to be the 1st foreign correspondent in 14 years to be kicked overseas.
An editorial Thursday within the Communist Party-affiliated Global Times acknowledged that authorities didn't give a selected cause of denying the visa request and press credentials of Chan, who have been the network's only English-language reporter in China.
Instead, the editorial raised questions on Chan's journalistic integrity, quoting anonymous sources that said she had an "aggressive political stance" and a "tense relationship" with Chinese authorities who monitor foreign media.
China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday gave little cause of Chan's expulsion instead of offering a warning that journalists must abide by "relevant Chinese laws and regulations."
The move to expel Chan was met with widespread condemnation by other foreign correspondents and media rights organizations, who said it was an try and censor and intimate foreign media in China.
But the worldwide Times editorial said the Chinese government is simply not interfering with foreign journalists, calling it a "retrograde act" and "simply impossible."
Chan were strongly critical of poor reporting conditions in China and has documented several police attempts to stifle her news gathering. She sometimes also reported on human rights violations in China.
On Tuesday, Al-Jazeera said it had "no other choice" but to shut its English-language bureau in China after the govt. didn't renew her visa or allow for somebody to interchange her.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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