Last Indian Journalist In China Asked To Leave This Month

New Delhi: In a tit-for-tat move, China has asked the last Indian journalist in its country to leave. Chinese authorities have instructed the Press Trust of India reporter to leave the country this month, according to a person familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.

Indian media outlets had four reporters based in China earlier this year. The Hindustan Times reporter left over the weekend, while two journalists from public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and The Hindu newspaper were denied visa renewals in China in April, the report added.

Last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said there was one Chinese journalist left in India, who was still awaiting the renewal of his visa. Earlier, New Delhi rejected visa renewal applications from two journalists from Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television.

The Indian government said earlier this month that Chinese reporters had been operating in the country without any difficulty, but this was not the case for Indian journalists in China. Both countries were in touch over the issue, it added.

How it started

It all started a few months ago with Indian journalists hiring assistants in China to help with reporting, according to Indian officials familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation, the report added. Beijing imposed measures limiting employment to three individuals at a time who must come from a pool provided by the Chinese authorities, they said. India doesn’t have a cap on hiring.