Last Chinese journalist leaves India after refusal in visa extension

Monitoring Desk

NEW DELHI: Freedom of expression is shrinking in India as the last remaining Chinese reporter has been expelled from New Delhi after authorities denied visa extension earlier this month.

The reporter was associated with Chinese official news agency, Xinhua, according to Radio Pakistan.

The expulsion marks the first instance in the history that not a single Chinese journalist has been present in India after normalisation of relations in 1980.

This move also reflects that there is no room for journalists in Modi’s India, which is proclaimed as the biggest democracy in the world and journalists are even expelled for having opinion against the government.

It is also the worst example to suppress the freedom of expression and voice of journalists. The Indian authorities are taking such steps only to cover up their worst ever terrorism being perpetrated on minorities.

The world is expressing its serious concerns over worst human rights violations of monitories by the Indian authorities, but there is dire need to condemn at large such kind of fascist posture of Indian government.

According to India media, the journalist left the capital around a week ago.

At present, an Indian reporter from the Press Trust of India news agency is in Beijing.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on June 12 said the reporter was “still working and living in China” but suggested that it may take countermeasures if India did not extend the visa of “the last Chinese journalist in the country”.

“Since 2020, the Indian side has refused to review and approve Chinese journalists’ applications for stationing in India and limited the period of validity of visas held by Chinese journalists in India to only three months or even one month,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press briefing. “As a result, the number of Chinese journalists stationed in India has plummeted from 14 to just one,” he had said.

In April, China froze the visas of two of the four Indian correspondents, in what it described as countermeasures after India in March expelled a Chinese journalist, leaving only two Chinese reporters in the country.

After India, the following month expelled another reporter, Beijing then ousted a third Indian reporter, leaving one remaining reporter in each country.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not comment on the case.

Earlier this month, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said “all foreign journalists, including Chinese journalists, have been pursuing journalistic activities in India without any limitations or difficulties in reporting or doing media coverage”.

Bagchi added that “the two sides continue to remain in touch regarding this issue”.