US tightens visa rules for Chinese journalists

Washington DC: The United States has tightened visa rules for Chinese journalists as a war on the media between the two sides escalated.

The rules, which will take effect on Monday, limit visas for Chinese passport holders to 90 days with the option for an extension, the US Department for Homeland Security said on Friday.

Journalists with passports from Hong Kong or Macau will not be affected.

“The department is issuing this rule to address the actions of the PRC [People’s Republic of China] government and to enhance reciprocity in the treatment of US journalists in the PRC,” the DHS said.

“Information received from the Department of State, as well as open source information, demonstrates a suppression of independent journalism in the PRC, including an increasing lack of transparency and consistency in the admission periods granted to foreign journalists, including US journalists,” it said.