China pricks India again; targets Indian journalists working in Beijing

By Anish Kumar | First Published Apr 5, 2023, 10:05 AM IST

Sources in the government establishment said: "Two Indian journalists who are in Beijing now were called to the Chinese foreign ministry’s office and they were informed that their visas would not be extended. They were told to plan accordingly to return to India."

In yet another diplomatic low, China has targeted Indian journalists based in Beijing and told them their visas may not be extended beyond the period specified. An official decision on their visa is expected by end of the month.

Two other Indian journalists, who are currently in India, have also been informed that their visas have been frozen.

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Sources in the government establishment said: "Two Indian journalists who are in Beijing now were called at the Chinese foreign ministry’s office and they were informed that their visas would not be extended. You can plan accordingly to return to India."

China has alleged that India has been showing unfair treatment to Chinese journalists. As per the reports, Beijing has been asking for additional visas for its journalists to work in India. The Chinese have also asked that the visa term be increased to one year on a reciprocal basis.

However, sources in the government establishment said: "China has been trying to build a narrative. We had facilitated the Chinese journalists for the coverage of the G-20 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Delhi and a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Varanasi."

It is pertinent to mention here that India witnessed two instances of unusual moves from the Chinese side in the last 48 hours. Just a day ago, Beijing renamed 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh citing them as part of so-called Southern Tibet. Prior to this, similar action from China was seen in 2017 and 2021 when they renamed six and 15 places, respectively.

In 2016, India had asked three Chinese journalists working for the official Xinhua News Agency to leave the country after it refused to extend their visas. No official reason was given then, but sources had said that they had come under the 'adverse attention of security agencies' for allegedly indulging in activities beyond their journalistic brief.

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