In the midst of escalating tensions between India and China, the last remaining Indian journalist in China has been instructed by Chinese authorities to leave the country this month, according to Bloomberg. The reporter, affiliated with the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI), will be departing, marking the complete withdrawal of Indian media presence from the world’s second-largest economy.
At the beginning of this year, four Indian reporters were stationed in China. The Hindustan Times journalist left over the weekend, while two journalists from public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and The Hindu newspaper had their visa renewals denied in April, as reported by Bloomberg.
Ananth Krishnan, a reporter from The Hindu, also confirmed the development on his Twitter account about Hindustan Times’ reporter’s exit and his visa being frozen by the Chinese authority.
Sad to report Sutirtho Patranobis @spatranobis has left Beijing – the third Indian reporter to be effectively made to leave since April, when @anshu13 and I had our visas frozen.
Will sorely miss Pat’s sharp and illuminating dispatches from China these past 11 years for the… https://t.co/dqMPAeNp1j
— Ananth Krishnan (@ananthkrishnan) June 12, 2023
Earlier this year, the Indian government rejected visa renewal applications from two journalists working for Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television.
Last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that there was one remaining Chinese journalist in India, who was still awaiting the renewal of their visa, as per the report.
According to the Bloomberg report, the visa issue emerged several months ago when Indian journalists hired assistants in China to aid with reporting. Beijing responded by imposing restrictions, allowing the employment of only three individuals at a time, selected from a pool provided by the Chinese authorities.
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