China revokes 3 Wall Street Journal reporters' credentials

19/2/2020 18:47

        China said it has revoked the press credentials of three reporters for the U.S. newspaper Wall Street Journal over a headline for an opinion column deemed by the government to be racist and slanderous.
        
        The headline referred to the current virus outbreak in China and called the country the “Real Sick Man of Asia."
        
        In a statement, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the Feb. 3 op-ed by Bard College Professor Walter Russel Mead "smears the efforts of the Chinese government and people on fighting (the virus) epidemic."
        
        He says "The editors used such a racially discriminatory title, triggering indignation and condemnation among the Chinese people and the international community."
        
        The statement said the expulsions came after the Journal refused demands to "make an official apology and hold the persons involved accountable."