China's relations with Australia also cracked, Australia reprimanded all journalists

- US accuses media of intimidation

Washington Tuesday, September 8, 2020

China's relations with Australia were also reported to be strained. Australia has recalled all its journalists in Beijing. The United States, on the other hand, has accused China of intimidating foreign journalists.

Tensions between Australia and China have risen in the past few months. The arrest of Australian journalists by China in particular brought the two countries face to face. The last two reporters left Beijing on Monday. Earlier, the two journalists were summoned by the local Chinese administration for questioning.

The Chinese government had its eye on Australian journalists Bill Burtels and Michael Smith. Both were allowed to leave China after political interference. The two were accused by China of spying.

The Australian Foreign Minister said that with the joint efforts of the Australian Embassy in Beijing and the Chinese Embassy here, our journalists were released and the Swedes returned. At the same time, the United States accused China of intimidating foreign journalists and detaining them under the pretext of interrogation.

Last week, China arrested Cheng Lei, an Australian woman journalist of Chinese descent, and she was also interrogated.

Meanwhile, the United States has sharply criticized China for not renewing the press accreditation of American journalists and accused it of discriminating against foreign journalists.

US State Department spokesman Morgan Ortegas said China has a long history of intimidating foreign journalists. Earlier this year, China told the United States that it would not renew the accreditation of journalists who had been expelled by China and would not consider their visa applications.