Wall Street Journal reporter and Singapore national Chun Han Wong was forced to leave China Friday after authorities declined to renew his journalist’s credentials following his reporting on President Xi Jinping’s cousin.
According to the WSJ, Wong has worked in Beijing since 2014 and has had his credentials renewed every year since then. The process should take a matter of days, the paper reported.
Reuters and CNN report the issue over Wong’s press credentials stems from a WSJ report co-written by Wong that said Australian authorities were looking into the activities of one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cousin as part of probes into organized crime, money laundering and alleged Chinese influence-peddling.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Wall Street Journal directed TheWrap to WSJ’s write-up of the situation, which includes this quote from editor in chief Matt Murray: “It is disappointing that the Chinese government has denied our reporter press credentials. Our journalism has been fair and accurate. We of course remain committed to covering the important story of China with the usual high standards that our readers expect.”
The Foreign Ministry and Embassy did not immediately return requests for comment.
The co-author of the piece in question, Australian Philip Wen, was given a three-month visa, according to Reuters. The journalist visas in China are usually good for a year.