Reporters Are Pressured by China, a Spanish Newspaper Claims

One of Spain's leading newspapers and China's government have been at odds since police visited one of its correspondents' homes in Beijing.

Jaime Santirso, a reporter for the Spanish daily ABC, described the incident as "veiled intimidation”, VOA reported.

On March 8, Santirso tweeted that three members of the police had visited his Beijing home, the eve of what is considered to be the biggest political event in China.

The Chinese embassy in Madrid publicly condemned several ABC articles in recent months, and China's Foreign Ministry summoned the bureau chief to complain about his reporting late last year. China blocks access to ABC's website since last year.

Media organizations, such as the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China and the International Federation of Journalists, or IFJ, say their experiences reflect the growing challenges foreign media face in Beijing.

A report by the International Federation of Journalists condemns the "wolf warrior diplomacy" employed by China toward Spanish journalists, adding that the country shows a pattern of intimidation toward foreign media.

"Wolf warrior diplomacy," taken from a film, refers to a more aggressive approach taken by some Chinese officials.

"The IFJ has documented a clear pattern of harassment or intimidation of journalists from countries that do not follow in step with China's line, particularly on any sensitive topics. It is this type of intimidation that has forced other correspondents to leave their posts or relocate," Jane Worthington, IFJ’s regional director, told VOA.

"Wolf warrior diplomacy and pressure from the state, combined with outright blocking like this, is part of a strategy to control the media narrative and attack foreign journalists' independence," Worthington added.

ABC bureau chief Pablo Diez was summoned by China's Foreign Ministry in November. Officials wanted to correct some "errors" in a profile of President Xi Jinping. In the article, Ten had described China as a "dictatorship." 

A few months later, he wrote an article alleging that Peng Shuai and other celebrities disappeared after falling out with the Chinese government or criticizing it. After accusing Zhang Gaoli, China's former vice-premier under Xi, of sexual assault in a November post to the social media platform Weibo, Peng disappeared from public view. Minutes later, the post was removed. 

Peng denied saying anyone had assaulted her and said she had removed the Weibo post herself in an interview with a French sports magazine in February. In 2021, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said international journalists are facing "unprecedented hurdles" because of Beijing's efforts to block and discredit independent reporting."

“As the number of journalists forced out by the Chinese state grows due to excessive intimidation or outright expulsions, covering China is increasingly becoming an exercise in remote reporting,” the report said.

There is also a risk of arrest for journalists. Haze Fan, a reporter at the Bloomberg News bureau in Beijing, has been in custody since December 2020. China's Beijing National Security Bureau detained Fan at the time on suspicion of violating national security law.

“We are all very worried about her very well-being and we will continue to do everything we can to help her and her family,” John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, said in a statement.