A spokeswoman for Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, has openly criticized China for its expulsion of a New York Times reporter, Vivian Wang, from Beijing. This action was in response to Mr. Lai’s participation via video at the Times DealBook summit in New York in December.
Ms. Wang, a correspondent based in Beijing since 2020, was discharged in February after covering topics deemed sensitive by Chinese authorities. Despite not being involved in the DealBook conference, the Chinese officials had objected to her reporting which often spotlighted issues such as censorship, China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and the enlargement of China’s security apparatus.
China continues to endeavor to isolate Taiwan. It views the self-governed island as its territory and sees engagements with Taiwan’s leaders as violations of its sovereignty. In an online statement, Taiwan’s presidential spokeswoman, Kuo Ya-hui, emphasized China’s actions as detrimental to press freedom and journalist safety.
China’s use of baseless pretexts and brutal methods to threaten the media and interfere with press freedom not only fails to improve its international image, but also highlights that China is currently a source of instability and a troublemaker.
The expulsion marks a series of clampdowns by Beijing on foreign correspondents challenging China’s official stance. In retaliation, the Trump administration revoked the visa of a U.S.-based journalist from China’s state news agency, Xinhua.
Ms. Kuo justified Mr. Lai’s foreign media interviews as efforts to elucidate Taiwan’s policies, share democratic ideals, and convey a commitment to regional security and peace. In April, Beijing induced disruptions in Mr. Lai’s trip by convincing countries to retract overflight permits, forcing him to cancel planned visits to Eswatini, though the journey was completed in May.
Report contributor Pei-Lin Wu provided research insights, while David Pierson detailed China’s foreign policy and its global interactions, drawing from over twenty years in journalism.