China asks last Indian journalist to leave this month

Beijing: China has asked the last Indian journalist in the country to leave the nation as Beijing and New Delhi continue to eject each other’s reporters in the deepening media rift. According to reported sources familiar with the matter, China has asked a reporter from the Press Trust of India to leave the country, wiping India’s media presence in the country amid the deteriorating ties.

Earlier this year, Indian media outlets had a contingent of four reporters stationed in China. The Hindustan Times reporter recently departed over the weekend, and two Indian journalists from Prasar Bharati and The Hindu newspaper were denied visa renewal back in April.

Last month, Mao Ning, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, disclosed that there was one remaining Chinese journalist in India, patiently awaiting the renewal of their visa. Previously, New Delhi had declined the visa renewal requests of two journalists from Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television.

India has, however, said that while Chinese reporters have been operating without much difficulty, the same could not be said about the Indian journalists in China. Both countries were in touch over the issue, it added. The media rift between the two countries began when some Indian journalists reportedly hired some assistants to help them with reporting. Beijing imposed measures limiting employment to three individuals at a time who must come from a pool provided by the Chinese authorities, they said. India doesn’t have a cap on hiring.

The rejection of visas to the Chinese journalists have come at a time when India is hosting G-20 and SCO meetings this year.