BEIJING: Chinese journalists have been subjected to unfair and discriminatory treatment in India.
In 2016, three journalists from Xinhua News Agency were forced to return to China due to difficulties in renewing their visas. Recently, several other Chinese journalists in India were forced to leave the country after being denied visa renewals.
In February 2017, I was dispatched to India as the chief of Xinhua News Agency New Delhi branch, and stayed there for six years since then.
As it is easily understood, a long stay in the host country is conducive to a correspondent’s work, but it has become an excuse for the Indian side to turn him or her away. On March 15, the Indian Foreign Ministry told me via email that I had to leave India before March 31 because I had stayed in the country for too long. Actually, I submitted the application to the Indian Foreign Ministry in early February for renewing my visa, which was due to expire on March 7. As the deadline approached, I reached out to the Indian Foreign Ministry many times but received no reply except the final notice for me to leave.
My experience is not a rare occurrence. Over the years, Chinese journalists in India have had a difficult life due to persistent visa hassle.
Indian authorities typically grant one or two-year visas to journalists from other countries. However, in 2017, India shortened the visa validity period for Chinese journalists stationed in India to three months or even less than a month in some cases, subjecting Chinese journalists to repeated applications. Since August 2019, my Xinhua colleague Jiang Lei had been granted visas for seven consecutive times with validity periods ranging from only 25 to 33 days. It was not until March 2020 that his visa validity was restored to three months.
India’s visa policy has caused a lot of inconvenience for Chinese journalists in India. According to Indian regulations, all necessary documents and services for Chinese journalists, including press cards, driver’s licenses, bank accounts, and even mobile phone numbers, are linked to the visa. As the continuity of short-term visas is not guaranteed, Chinese journalists have encountered a series of problems as a result.
For example, it is difficult for Chinese journalists to open local bank accounts because their visas’ validity is too short. Jiang got his first local bank card after four and a half years in India, but the card was frozen less than three months later as the Indian Foreign Ministry delayed the renewal of his visa. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
