NYT reporter Chris Buckley expelled from China in apparent retaliation for Wen story
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By John Garnaut
Chris Buckley, known for balanced reporting
Times Reporter in China Is Forced to Leave Over Visa Issue
AN AUSTRALIAN journalist with The New York Times has been expelled from China in an apparent act of retaliation for a news report about the family wealth of the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao.
After 15 years in China, including 12 as a reporter, Chris Buckley flew out of Beijing at 6.30pm on Monday with his wife and 12-year-old daughter, after authorities declined to renew his annual media accreditation and residence visa.
His expulsion followed an October 25 investigative report by a colleague at The New York Times that revealed Mr Wen's close relatives had acquired at least $2.7 billion in assets.
Fairfax understands that Buckley, who rejoined The New York Times in October after a stint at Reuters, has received no official explanation of why his application has not been accepted after a delay of more than two months.
Buckley's treatment raises concerns about bilateral reciprocity, given reporters and propaganda workers from Chinese state media are given unimpeded access to Australia and the US.
It also illustrates the challenge facing the new leader, Xi Jinping.
Mr Xi has repeatedly warned that corruption threatens the Communist Party's existence but has not yet shown he is prepared to allow the media ''sunlight'' that analysts say is required to redress the problem.
The New York Times report on Mr Wen was one of a series of damaging foreign media reports about how leading Communist Party families have acquired enormous wealth despite their professed socialist ideals. Bloomberg, the business news service, has been blocked in China since revealing on June 29 that close relatives of Mr Xi had quietly accrued assets that tally up to more than $1 billion.
Within hours of the report in The New York Times on October 25, Chinese authorities blocked the newspaper's English and Chinese language websites, the latter established months earlier.
The editor of the Chinese language website, American citizen Phil Pan, has also been denied a journalist visa to work in China.
Buckley earned a reputation in China for balance and rigour.
''This kind of thing is simply a disaster,'' a leading Chinese media commentator, Michael Anti, wrote on his Weibo social media account.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials regularly invited Buckley to ask questions at regular press conferences. On March 14, at the annual National People's Congress press conference, Buckley asked the question that led Mr Wen to presage the demise of Politburo member Bo Xilai and link Mr Bo's behaviour to an absence of checks on power.
One of several Chinese security officials tasked with shadowing Buckley's movements told Fairfax that keeping track of his conversations had been a ''headache'', citing the politically sensitive nature of his reports and the volume of his interviews.
Chris Buckley, a reporter for the New York Times who has lived in China for the past 15 years, has been expelled from the country in what most commentators are calling a retaliatory act for the paper'sexposé of Wen Jiabao's family's massive wealth.
China expels journalist after Wen revelations
Chris Buckley, known for balanced reporting
Times Reporter in China Is Forced to Leave Over Visa Issue
AN AUSTRALIAN journalist with The New York Times has been expelled from China in an apparent act of retaliation for a news report about the family wealth of the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao.
After 15 years in China, including 12 as a reporter, Chris Buckley flew out of Beijing at 6.30pm on Monday with his wife and 12-year-old daughter, after authorities declined to renew his annual media accreditation and residence visa.
His expulsion followed an October 25 investigative report by a colleague at The New York Times that revealed Mr Wen's close relatives had acquired at least $2.7 billion in assets.
Fairfax understands that Buckley, who rejoined The New York Times in October after a stint at Reuters, has received no official explanation of why his application has not been accepted after a delay of more than two months.
Buckley's treatment raises concerns about bilateral reciprocity, given reporters and propaganda workers from Chinese state media are given unimpeded access to Australia and the US.
It also illustrates the challenge facing the new leader, Xi Jinping.
Mr Xi has repeatedly warned that corruption threatens the Communist Party's existence but has not yet shown he is prepared to allow the media ''sunlight'' that analysts say is required to redress the problem.
The New York Times report on Mr Wen was one of a series of damaging foreign media reports about how leading Communist Party families have acquired enormous wealth despite their professed socialist ideals. Bloomberg, the business news service, has been blocked in China since revealing on June 29 that close relatives of Mr Xi had quietly accrued assets that tally up to more than $1 billion.
Within hours of the report in The New York Times on October 25, Chinese authorities blocked the newspaper's English and Chinese language websites, the latter established months earlier.
The editor of the Chinese language website, American citizen Phil Pan, has also been denied a journalist visa to work in China.
Buckley earned a reputation in China for balance and rigour.
''This kind of thing is simply a disaster,'' a leading Chinese media commentator, Michael Anti, wrote on his Weibo social media account.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials regularly invited Buckley to ask questions at regular press conferences. On March 14, at the annual National People's Congress press conference, Buckley asked the question that led Mr Wen to presage the demise of Politburo member Bo Xilai and link Mr Bo's behaviour to an absence of checks on power.
One of several Chinese security officials tasked with shadowing Buckley's movements told Fairfax that keeping track of his conversations had been a ''headache'', citing the politically sensitive nature of his reports and the volume of his interviews.
Visa of New York Times Journalist Not Renewed (Updated)
In what could be the second expulsion of a foreign journalist this year, Chinese authorities have failed to renew a visa and journalist accreditation for the New York Times’ Chris Buckley, an Australian citizen. Buckley left China on Monday night. Buckley’s departure follows the publication of two major New York Times’ exposés looking at the financial dealings of relatives of China’s high officials, although Buckley himself was not responsible for the reports. David Barboza, who wrote the two investigative pieces, continues to work in China. From the Sydney Morning Herald:
In May, Al Jazeera correspondent Melissa Chan became the first foreign journalist in more than a decade to be expelled from China. The government never offered any public explanation of the move.
Update: See a New York Times report on Buckley’s departure from China:
© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012.
![Respectfully wish Chairman Mao eternal life!]()
Fairfax understands that Buckley, who rejoined The New York Times in October after a stint at Reuters, has received no official explanation of why his application has not been accepted after a delay of more than two months.The New York Times’ Chinese and English websites have both been blocked following the newspaper’s recent reporting on China. Phil Pan, an American journalist who was hired to edit the Chinese site, has also been denied a journalist visa in China, according to the SMH article. But on Twitter, Pan expressed optimism that Buckley would be permitted to return to China:
Buckley’s treatment raises concerns about bilateral reciprocity, given reporters and propagandaworkers from Chinese state media are given unimpeded access to Australia and the US.
It also illustrates the challenge facing the new leader, Xi Jinping.
Mr Xi has repeatedly warned that corruption threatens the Communist Party’s existence but has not yet shown he is prepared to allow the media ”sunlight” that analysts say is required to redress the problem.
The New York Times report on Mr Wen was one of a series of damaging foreign media reports about how leading Communist Party families have acquired enormous wealth despite their professed socialist ideals.
@limlouisa @pekingmike @chubailiang He’ll be back soon, I hope.
— Philip Pan (@panphil) December 31, 2012
In May, Al Jazeera correspondent Melissa Chan became the first foreign journalist in more than a decade to be expelled from China. The government never offered any public explanation of the move.
Update: See a New York Times report on Buckley’s departure from China:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on Mr. Buckley’s forced departure. Ministry officials have not said if they were linking Mr. Buckley’s visa renewal or Mr. Pan’s press accreditation to the newspaper’s coverage of China. In a statement, The Times urged the authorities to process Mr. Buckley’s visa as quickly as possible so that he and his family could return to Beijing.
“I regret that Chris Buckley has been forced to relocate outside of China despite our repeated requests to renew his journalist visa,” Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The Times, said in the statement. “I hope the Chinese authorities will issue him a new visa as soon as possible and allow Chris and his family to return to Beijing. I also hope that Phil Pan, whose application for journalist credentials has been pending for months, will also be issued a visa to serve as our bureau chief in Beijing.”
© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012.
Respectfully wish Chairman Mao eternal life!
Designer unknown (佚名)
1968
Respectfully wish Chairman Mao eternal life!
Jingzhu Mao zhuxi wanshou wujiang! (敬祝毛主席万寿无疆！)
Call nr.: BG E13/549 (Landsberger collection)