In China, foreign journalists are increasingly intimidated, according to a survey

The Chinese government has found new ways to intimidate foreign journalists, their colleagues, and their sources, according to a report. At least six foreign journalists have left the country due to harassment.

Online trolling, physical assaults, hacking, denial of visas, as well as clearly encouraging lawsuits and legal threats against journalists are some of the methods used, "typically filed by sources that have explicitly agreed to provide interviews".

According to a report compiled by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC), this development is alarming, as foreigners with civil or criminal lawsuits in China could be barred from leaving the country.

According to the Guardian, China has become more authoritarian under Xi Jinping, with worsening crackdowns on press freedom and harassment of foreign media professionals. The Chinese journalist Haze Fan, an Australian working for the state broadcaster China Global Television Network, and the Australian journalist Cheng Lei remain in jail after more than a year.

Earlier this week, FCCC released its annual report compiling the results of its member survey. The report found that harassment and intimidation incidents were high, and foreign journalists and outlets had developed emergency exit plans due to the heightened danger.

Several other foreign correspondents have been threatened or sued by government entities or sources, the FCCC said, "taking away from their reporting time and placing them at risk".

According to the FCCC, 62% of respondents claim they have been obstructed at least once by a police official or another official, while 47% report being obstructed by an unidentified individual. The report claimed that 12% of the workers were "manhandled or physically abused" while reporting.

Several western journalists were physically confronted by angry people during the floods in Henan province last summer, when they tried to cover the disaster and investigate official cover-ups that were later confirmed by China's central government.

The majority of respondents indicated that they were targeted for their reporting in online smear campaigns, with trolling disproportionately targeting female journalists with east Asian descent, and the Chinese employees of foreign media outlets who were subjected to sexual innuendo and "alarming threats of physical violence".

The FCCC stated that the attacks showed "an emboldened Chinese government willing to go to great lengths to discredit foreign journalists and their work". The report pointed out that neither foreign journalists nor major news organizations have been prevented from reporting the news that matters.

Reporters from China are now based in Taipei, Singapore, Sydney and London, covering the country remotely or awaiting visa approval. The US and China agreed last year to ease visa restrictions on journalists from each other's countries, but very few applications have been processed. 46% of respondents to the FCCC survey said their China bureaux were understaffed because they had not been able to hire enough journalists.

In addition, the survey determined that Chinese authorities and officials continue to use Covid-19 measures and border restrictions in order to impede reporting trips, deny access to some locations, and decline interview requests. More than half of respondents reported being asked to leave or denied access because of health and safety concerns, even though they presented no risk. Moreover, Hong Kong's strict border regulations had added to the pressure on foreign journalists who were already experiencing difficulties under the national security law and crackdown on the media.

*This article contains information sourced from The Guardian.