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Washington D.C. – Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), Lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today sent a letter to the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Cui Tiankai, denouncing China’s plans to expel American journalists from the country. In the letter, he wrote: 

“Your ill-advised and dangerous actions demonstrate a significant lack of understanding of the American spirit. By attempting to silence our journalists, you are serving only to build up their resolve to expose the truth; the truth you continue to obfuscate. What the Foreign Ministry may believe is a projection of the CCP’s strength, is viewed in Washington and around the world as the actions of an insecure regime afraid of accountability and sunlight. Indeed, our brave journalists will view this latest injustice as a badge of honor.”

Full text of the letter can be found here or below: 

Dear Ambassador Cui,

We write to express our extreme disappointment with the Foreign Ministry of the People’s Republic of China’s recent targeting and expulsion of U.S. journalists. A pattern of disinformation issued and promoted by the Foreign Ministry amid a pandemic heightens our concerns about this unwarranted and provocative action. We urge the Foreign Ministry to immediately end its role in impeding the free flow of information globally and reverse its decision to expel American journalists.

The Foreign Ministry’s March 18 statement accuses the United States of “discrimination and politically-motivated oppression” against Chinese media organizations. Yet, it completely ignores China’s systematic and endemic “discrimination and politically-motivated oppression” that U.S. and other foreign media outlets have endured  in China for decades. The limited number of foreign reporters allowed to work in China are subject to some of the world’s harshest and most stringent treatment—including surveillance, harassment, detention, and violence.

Recent U.S. actions seek to reasonably limit operations by China’s propaganda agencies in the United States. They did not limit legitimate news organizations ability to operate and were long overdue. I applaud the State Department for taking these appropriate actions.

Your government’s attacks on the free flow of information and blatant promotion of disinformation are a threat to the entire world. When your diplomats spread conspiracy theories on Twitter, including recent posts inaccurately claiming the United States military brought the coronavirus to China, it only further undermines the credibility of your government.

These tactics will continue degrading the one of the world’s most important bilateral relationship and undermining global security. This reality was brought sharply into focus by your Communist Party’s coverup of the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Wuhan, which has contributed to the greatest global health emergency in modern times.

Your ill-advised and dangerous actions demonstrate a significant lack of understanding of the American spirit. By attempting to silence  our journalists, you are serving only to build up their resolve to expose the truth; the truth you continue to obfuscate. What the Foreign Ministry may believe is a projection of the CCP’s strength, is viewed in Washington and around the world as the actions of an insecure regime afraid of accountability and sunlight. Indeed, our brave journalists will view this latest injustice as a badge of honor.

The United States has always sought peaceful and fair relations with China. However, we can no longer accept basic asymmetries in our relations. We urge the Foreign Ministry in the strongest to terms to end its role in China’s assault on the freedom of information and reinstate the revoked credentials of the American news organizations.

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