The Trump administration has ramped up visa restrictions on Chinese journalists working in the United States as a tit-for-tat between the two countries continues.
The new restrictions will go into effect on Monday and will limit Chinese journalists not working for U.S. news outlets to only 90-day work visas, although the journalists can apply for three-month extensions.
“Information received from the Department of State, as well as open source information, demonstrates a suppression of independent journalism in [China], including an increasing lack of transparency and consistency in the admission periods granted to foreign journalists, including U.S. journalists,” the Department of Homeland Security said in the announcement.
The row began in April when the Chinese government revoked the press credentials of three Wall Street Journal reporters as punishment for an opinion piece the country became upset about. The expulsions were the first time China had pushed out foreign journalists in more than 20 years.
In early March, the State Department issued new limits on the number of Chinese journalists who can work for five China-run news organizations back in March. The department said at the time that the rule was meant to punish China’s government for its lack of press freedom toward foreign reporters in the country.
Prior to the March decision, U.S. officials weighed how to punish China for the expulsions, with some in the White House reportedly wanting to expel dozens of Chinese journalists.
President Trump and officials in the administration have lashed out against China since the coronavirus pandemic began in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. The administration has blamed China for mishandling the start of the pandemic and downplaying the potential danger that the virus posed to the world.
