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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

China Expels NYT Reporter; Journalist Recounts Personal Experience with Fear and Self-Censorship

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Context piece
  • China expelled New York Times correspondent Vivian Wang after the newspaper interviewed Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te.
  • Veteran journalist Akio Yaita recalled his own experiences with pressure and self-censorship while reporting in Beijing.
  • Yaita criticized the perception of China's development, stating the government fears uncontrolled voices and that China's actions suppress press freedom.

China has expelled New York Times correspondent Vivian Wang, reportedly in response to the newspaper's interview with Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te. The incident has reignited debates about press freedom, drawing parallels to past instances of journalistic suppression in China.

Japanese journalist Akio Yaita, who spent a decade reporting from Beijing, shared his personal experiences with the subtle yet pervasive pressures faced by foreign correspondents. He described how official reassurances could be followed by sudden cancellations of press credentials, unreturned calls from interview subjects, and constant surveillance. Yaita noted that these tactics, while not always overt, foster an environment of fear that leads to self-censorship among journalists.

The most effective way China suppresses press freedom is not by directly silencing you, but by making you gradually learn to say less, ask less, and touch less.

— Akio YaitaDescribing the subtle methods China uses to control the media environment.

"The most effective way China suppresses press freedom is not by directly silencing you, but by making you gradually learn to say less, ask less, and touch less," Yaita stated. He observed that despite the ongoing deterioration of the media environment in China, some individuals living in free societies fail to recognize these realities. They are often swayed by superficial observations of China's material progress, such as high-speed trains and mobile payments, leading them to downplay the country's authoritarian control and restrictions on freedom.

Yaita emphasized that the true nature of China is revealed by its expulsion of foreign journalists, intimidation of interviewees, and the normalization of pressure. He characterized the Chinese Communist Party as a regime lacking security and confidence, deeply fearful of any voices it cannot control. The expulsion of Wang is seen as another manifestation of this underlying insecurity.

The Chinese Communist Party is a regime lacking security and confidence, deeply fearful of any voices it cannot control.

— Akio YaitaExplaining the underlying motivation behind China's actions against foreign journalists.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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