French journalist in China 'must apologise or leave'

China has refused to renew the press credentials
of a French journalist, effectively expelling her,
unless she recants one of her stories, the reporter
told AFP Friday, the first such case since 2012.
Ursula Gauthier, a Beijing-based correspondent for
French news magazine L'Obs, must issue a public
apology for an article she wrote last month or
China's foreign ministry will not renew her press
credentials, set to expire on December 31,
officials told Gauthier on Christmas Day.
"They confirmed that if I did not make a
public apology on all the points that had
'hurt the Chinese people' ... my press card
would not be renewed and I would have to
leave on December 31," she told AFP.
Gauthier would be the first foreign correspondent
in China to be expelled since the 2012 expulsion
of Melissa Chan, correspondent for the English-
language service of Al Jazeera.
While the domestic media is subject to strict
control and many topics are taboo, the foreign
media is free to publish on any topic. However,
foreign journalists frequently complain of
harassment by the authorities while conducting
routine reporting.
Her article in L'Obs triggered condemnation from
Beijing and a virulent campaign in the state-run
Global Times and China Daily, as well as
thousands of often violent and abusive comments
from Chinese Internet users. Her photo was
published online.
Entitled "After the attacks (on Paris), Chinese
solidarity is not without ulterior motives", her
essay spoke of China's anti-terrorism policies in
the country's western region of Xinjiang,
homeland of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority --
many of whom complain of discrimination and
controls on their culture and religion.
Chinese authorities said they believed Gauthier's
article offered justification for violence in the
region that the government labels as "terrorism".
"The article criticised China's counter-
terrorism efforts, and denigrated and
slandered Chinese policies. It provoked the
strong indignation of the Chinese public,"
Hua Chunying, a foreign ministry
spokesperson, said at a regular press
briefing in early December.
Beijing considers condemnation of attacks in
Xinjiang by foreign governments and the
international press as weak, and has slammed
Western countries for applying "double standards"
on terrorism in the wake of the attacks in Paris.