Conditions for international reporters deteriorating in China

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China released at the end of May its annual report on conditions for international journalists working in the country. As we have done in the past, we’re posting this year’s report as a PDF. The takeaway is that conditions have certainly not gotten better and many feel they have gotten worse, according to the 123 respondents to the survey, slightly more than half of its membership of 236.

The survey “found that 99 percent of respondents do not think reporting conditions in China meet international standards. Eighty percent feel conditions have worsened or stayed the same in the past year–up 10 percentage points from the May 2013 survey. Not one member said conditions had improved.”

In addition to the difficulty of obtaining visas, the FCCC’s other top concerns include:

  • Interference, harassment, and physical violence by authorities against international media during the reporting process
  • Attempts by authorities to pre-empt and discourage coverage of sensitive subjects
  • Intimidation and harassment of sources
  • Restrictions on journalists’ movements in Tibetan-inhabited areas and Xinjiang
  • Pressure directed to editors and managers at headquarters outside of China
  • Cyber harassment and blocking of websites.

The methodology of the survey is explained at the bottom of the FCCC report.