{"id":7951,"date":"2020-09-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/?p=7951"},"modified":"2020-09-16T12:29:36","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T02:29:36","slug":"journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-09-08\/bill-birtles-mike-smith-evacuated-china-safety-concerns\/12638786\">forced departure<\/a>&nbsp;from China of leading Australian journalists Bill Birtles of the ABC and Mike Smith of The Australian Financial Review robs Australia of direct coverage of events in the vast nation for the first time since the Mao Zedong era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They left behind Australian journalist&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/australian-government-must-act-urgently-on-detention-of-journalist-cheng-lei-in-china-145376\">Cheng Lei<\/a>, a celebrated business presenter on China\u2019s own CGTN global news channel, who for a month has been held for unknown reasons in an unknown location where she will remain for an unknown period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In coordinated moves, security agents&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theaustralian.com.au\/business\/media\/australian-journalists-bill-birtles-michael-smith-evacuated-from-china\/news-story\/2ce6f472ea21a3b57bb7fd8d5f11ddc4\">visited the homes<\/a>&nbsp;of Birtles in Beijing and Smith in Shanghai at midnight last Wednesday, told them they were banned from leaving China and ordered them to come in for questioning over a national security case, possibly in connection with Cheng\u2019s detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The journalists then shifted immediately to Australia\u2019s Beijing embassy and Shanghai consulate, respectively, where they remained while Australian diplomats negotiated with Chinese government officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This led to a brief interview between Birtles (accompanied by Ambassador Graham Fletcher) and officials in Beijing before he flew to Shanghai (also accompanied by Australian diplomats). Both journalists were then able to board a flight back to Sydney, arriving today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It&#39;s nice to be home but deeply disappointing to leave China under such abrupt circumstances. It&#39;s been a big part of my life &amp; the past week was surreal. A very big thank you to the ABC, friends, colleagues &amp; those involved at DFAT. Plus <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MikeSmithAFR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MikeSmithAFR<\/a> for sharing the ride out. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zkJEV4Oa27\">pic.twitter.com\/zkJEV4Oa27<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bill Birtles (@billbirtles) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/billbirtles\/status\/1303170118956900353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 8, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Long line of expelled journalists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Australian\u2019s China correspondent,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wmdglasgow\/status\/1303138489274265600\">Will Glasgow<\/a>, has been working for a short time in Sydney, having returned for family reasons. And&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ErykBagshaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">Eryk Bagshaw<\/a>, appointed as China correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has been unable to take up his post due to COVID restraints, and remains in Canberra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Australian journalist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theaustralian.com.au\/world\/journalist-phillip-wen-first-to-be-ousted-since-mao-era\/news-story\/9722fec0b5bc46c5ba370fad62db420c\">Phil Wen<\/a>, with The Wall Street Journal, and the doyen of Australians covering China, New York Times correspondent\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-05-09\/china-kicks-out-foreign-journalists-during-coronavirus-crisis\/12227782\">Chris Buckley<\/a>, were required to leave China earlier this year as the authorities declined to extend their visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/356839\/original\/file-20200908-18-1o5w738.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"\" width=\"580\" height=\"386\" \/><figcaption>Foreign journalists lined up to attend a National People\u2019s Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.\u00a0Ng Han Guan\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This was in part due to a \u201ctit-for-tat\u201d exchange with the Trump administration, which had&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/wireStory\/trump-administration-tightens-visas-chinese-reporters-70597409\">limited the numbers of visas<\/a>&nbsp;to Chinese journalists working for state media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Five other reporters for US news organisations \u2013 the Journal, CNN, Bloomberg and Getty Images \u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/09\/06\/us\/politics\/china-us-journalists-visas-expulsions.html\">have also been told<\/a>&nbsp;in recent days their press credentials will not be renewed. A growing number of foreign journalists have had their visa periods reduced to two or even a single month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The much-depleted Foreign Correspondents\u2019 Club of China has issued a rare statement saying it is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/09\/06\/us\/politics\/china-us-journalists-visas-expulsions.html\">very alarmed<\/a>\u201d about such moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>These coercive practices have again turned accredited foreign journalists in China into pawns in a wider diplomatic conflict.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/356840\/original\/file-20200908-16-1n6qdig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption>China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in March that more than a dozen journalists from the US would be expelled from the country.\u00a0Andy Wong\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How will the Australian government respond?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The task of covering China has become increasingly challenging, with journalists provided access to only a tiny number of government set-piece events every year. Very few people in public life \u2014 including academics \u2014 are prepared to risk speaking to media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Australian journalists covering China have gained a generally high reputation, both within the profession and among Chinese people \u2014 including some officials \u2014 for even-handed and empathetic coverage, despite the daily obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some will seek to blame the Australian government and opposition for the plight of the Australian journalists,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-09-03\/china-australia-deteriorating-trade-diplomatic-relationship\/12618738\">pointing to their increasing firmness<\/a>&nbsp;in responding to Beijing\u2019s efforts to expand and deepen its global influence, including in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike Washington, however, Canberra is unlikely to respond to China\u2019s moves to banish and detain Australian journalists by imposing reciprocal restraints \u2013 for instance, withdrawing visas from Xinhua or CCTV reporters working in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Richard McGregor, a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute and former correspondent in Beijing for The Australian and the Financial Times, told ABC Radio such a response would be \u201ca really unproductive exercise\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canberra has declined to pursue tit-for-tat measures as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/its-hard-to-tell-why-china-is-targeting-australian-wine-there-are-two-possibilities-144734\">Beijing has imposed<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thediplomat.com\/2020\/06\/chinas-tariffs-on-australian-barley-coercion-protectionism-or-both\/\">tariffs<\/a>&nbsp;and duties on Australian goods in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/356841\/original\/file-20200908-20-18a6tgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption>The Australian government was notified of Cheng Lei\u2019s detention earlier this month.\u00a0Ng Han Guan\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Risk of more arbitrary detentions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the unknowns in China-Australia relations remain immense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China\u2019s politicians have increasingly become difficult to reach and interpret, while its diplomatic corps \u2014 which formerly helped provide guidance to foreign counterparts and others about underlying issues, concerns and narratives \u2014 have been transformed into far less communicative \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/behind-chinas-newly-aggressive-diplomacy-wolf-warriors-ready-to-fight-back-139028\">wolf warriors<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before this week\u2019s dramatic events, Australia\u2019s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-07-07\/dfat-changes-travel-advice-for-australians-in-china\/12431134\">upgraded<\/a>&nbsp;its travel advisory to warn that Australian citizens faced \u201carbitrary detention\u201d in China. Business people, among others, will now be weighing their safety if they visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several Australian journalists are still working in Beijing for international media, such as the BBC correspondent and former ABC correspondent&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stephen-mcdonell\/166860?nw=0\">Stephen McDonell<\/a>. There are also Australians working for China\u2019s state and party media \u2013 as Cheng Lei did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is a perilous and challenging time for all those attempting to interpret events in China. As Birtles&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheLyonsDen\/status\/1303120782407548929\">said<\/a>&nbsp;on arriving in Sydney, it was good to be home, but also<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>very disappointing to have to leave under those circumstances, and it is a relief to be back in a country with a genuine rule of law.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"Author label\"><strong>AUTHOR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/09\/rowan-callick.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7952\" width=\"60\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/09\/rowan-callick.jpg 238w, https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/09\/rowan-callick-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 60px) 100vw, 60px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.griffith.edu.au\/asia-institute\/our-researchers\/industry-fellow-rowan-callick\">Rowan Callick<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is an Industry Fellow at the <a href=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsight\">Griffith Asia Institute.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This article first appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/payne-and-reynolds-leave-washington-with-key-wins-and-room-to-disagree-with-us-on-china-143612\">The Conversation.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West as Australian journalists Bill Birtles of the ABC and Mike Smith of The Australian Financial Review we forced to depart China. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":7953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1053,245,1056,1057],"tags":[1435,602,944,1437,1434,284,1072,1436,807],"class_list":["post-7951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-china-and-north-east-asia","category-politics","category-security","tag-abc","tag-australia","tag-australia-china-relations","tag-australian-financial-review","tag-bill-birtles","tag-china","tag-journalism","tag-mike-smith","tag-rowan-callick"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Jill Moriarty","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent | Griffith Asia Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West as Australian journalists Bill Birtles of the ABC and Mike Smith of The Australian Financial Review we forced to depart China.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent | Griffith Asia Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West as Australian journalists Bill Birtles of the ABC and Mike Smith of The Australian Financial Review we forced to depart China.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Griffith Asia Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/griffithasiainstitute\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-09T23:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-16T02:29:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/09\/australian-journalists-900x500-1.jpg?fit=900%2C500&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Griffith Asia Institute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GAIGriffith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GAIGriffith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Griffith Asia Institute\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/person\/8121b8aa336749474cbaca380c03029a\"},\"headline\":\"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-09T23:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-16T02:29:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/\"},\"wordCount\":927,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"ABC\",\"Australia\",\"Australia-China relations\",\"Australian Financial Review\",\"Bill Birtles\",\"China\",\"Journalism\",\"Mike Smith\",\"Rowan Callick\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Region | Australia\",\"Region | China and Northeast Asia\",\"Topic-Politics\",\"Topic-Security\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/\",\"name\":\"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent | Griffith Asia Insights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-09T23:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-16T02:29:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West as Australian journalists Bill Birtles of the ABC and Mike Smith of The Australian Financial Review we forced to depart China.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/\",\"name\":\"Griffith Asia Insights\",\"description\":\"Asia Insights is published by the Griffith Asia Institute. It offers latest commentary on Asia-Pacific affairs and aims to inform and foster academic scholarship, public awareness and considered and responsive policy making.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/10\/GU_Griffith-Asia-Institute_rgb_red_horizontal.png?fit=2930%2C308&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/10\/GU_Griffith-Asia-Institute_rgb_red_horizontal.png?fit=2930%2C308&ssl=1\",\"width\":2930,\"height\":308,\"caption\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/griffithasiainstitute\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GAIGriffith\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/person\/8121b8aa336749474cbaca380c03029a\",\"name\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/author\/gaigriffith-edu-au\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent | Griffith Asia Insights","description":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West as Australian journalists Bill Birtles of the ABC and Mike Smith of The Australian Financial Review we forced to depart China.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent | Griffith Asia Insights","og_description":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West as Australian journalists Bill Birtles of the ABC and Mike Smith of The Australian Financial Review we forced to depart China.","og_url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/","og_site_name":"Griffith Asia Insights","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/griffithasiainstitute\/","article_published_time":"2020-09-09T23:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-16T02:29:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/09\/australian-journalists-900x500-1.jpg?fit=900%2C500&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Griffith Asia Institute","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GAIGriffith","twitter_site":"@GAIGriffith","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Griffith Asia Institute","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/"},"author":{"name":"Griffith Asia Institute","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/person\/8121b8aa336749474cbaca380c03029a"},"headline":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent","datePublished":"2020-09-09T23:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-16T02:29:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/"},"wordCount":927,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization"},"keywords":["ABC","Australia","Australia-China relations","Australian Financial Review","Bill Birtles","China","Journalism","Mike Smith","Rowan Callick"],"articleSection":["Region | Australia","Region | China and Northeast Asia","Topic-Politics","Topic-Security"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/","url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/","name":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent | Griffith Asia Insights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-09-09T23:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-16T02:29:36+00:00","description":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West as Australian journalists Bill Birtles of the ABC and Mike Smith of The Australian Financial Review we forced to depart China.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/journalists-have-become-diplomatic-pawns-in-chinas-relations-with-the-west-setting-a-worrying-precedent\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Journalists have become diplomatic pawns in China\u2019s relations with the West, setting a worrying precedent"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/","name":"Griffith Asia Insights","description":"Asia Insights is published by the Griffith Asia Institute. It offers latest commentary on Asia-Pacific affairs and aims to inform and foster academic scholarship, public awareness and considered and responsive policy making.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization","name":"Griffith Asia Institute","url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/10\/GU_Griffith-Asia-Institute_rgb_red_horizontal.png?fit=2930%2C308&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/10\/GU_Griffith-Asia-Institute_rgb_red_horizontal.png?fit=2930%2C308&ssl=1","width":2930,"height":308,"caption":"Griffith Asia Institute"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/griffithasiainstitute\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/GAIGriffith"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/person\/8121b8aa336749474cbaca380c03029a","name":"Griffith Asia Institute","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Griffith Asia Institute"},"url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/author\/gaigriffith-edu-au\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/09\/australian-journalists-900x500-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"featured_image_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/09\/australian-journalists-900x500-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}