China: WSJ journalist visa renewal denied following critical report

According to the Wall Street Journal, China effectively expelled a Wall Street Journal reporter from the country, one month after the newspaper published a report detailing allegations that a cousin of Chinese leader Xi Jinping was involved in high-stakes gambling and potential money laundering in Australia. The International Federation of Journalists strongly criticizes the decision to reject the visa renewal, and request the Chinese authorities to reverse this decision immediately.

Credit: SCMP

Chun-han Wong, a Singaporean national who has worked for the Wall Street Journal from Beijing since 2014, had his visa renewal rejected by Chinese visa. In July, Wong and reporter Philip Wen published a report about Australian authorities’ probes into alleged gambling and money laundering crimes involving the cousin of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 30 August saying, “We resolutely oppose malicious, defamatory attacks on China by individual foreign reporters and we do not welcome this sort of journalist,” according to newsreports.

The IFJ has criticized the move to reject the visa renewal of Wong.   said IFJ.

For further information contact IFJ Asia - Pacific on [email protected]

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 140 countries

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