NYT Correspondent Expelled from China; Beijing Cites 'Deceptive Reporting' Without Evidence

Central News Agency (Taipei, June 1) - Regarding the expulsion of a New York Times correspondent from China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian claimed today that the expelled reporter had 'documented records of deceptive reporting' while stationed in China, violating relevant Chinese regulations, and that China had 'lawfully' revoked the reporter's residence permit. However, Lin Jian did not provide any specific evidence of the alleged 'deceptive reporting.' The Chinese Foreign Ministry held its regular press conference in the afternoon. Lin Jian made these remarks in response to questions from foreign media. Lin claimed that the reporter violated the 'Regulations on Foreign News Agencies and Foreign Journalists' and that China acted 'in accordance with the law.' In addition to these claims, Lin also asserted that the New York Times 'refers to Taiwan as a country,' which China firmly opposes, repeating its usual rhetoric that the newspaper 'seriously violates the One-China principle' and the 'three US-China joint communiques.' A report by the New York Times on May 29 stated that the US government had revoked the visa of a Chinese citizen working for the Chinese state media Xinhua in the US, as a retaliatory measure to counter China's decision to expel the newspaper's reporter. This is a rare case of the US government directly retaliating against China's expulsion of American journalists. Joseph Kahn, managing editor of the New York Times, stated in a statement on the company's website: 'The Chinese government's decision to expel Vivian Wang is wrong. Her expulsion will make it harder for our global readers to get accurate, independent, and in-depth reporting on the world's second-largest economy during this critical time.' As for the US revoking the visa of a Xinhua reporter, Lin Jian claimed that the US move was 'political suppression,' which China firmly opposes.