India has decided to expel three senior Chinese journalists employed with China’s official Xinhua news agency following ‘concerns’ flagged by the intelligence agencies. Xinhua Bureau Chief in Delhi Wu Qiang, along with two of his Mumbai-based colleagues Lu Tang and She Yonggang, were asked last week to leave the country by July 31, sources said.
This is probably the first time that India has asked Chinese journalists to leave the country in this manner. Sources claimed the step was prompted by adverse reports from intelligence agencies about the three journalists who were suspected of impersonating other people and visiting restricted facilities under assumed names, Times of India reported.
The reports led the authorities to cancel the visas of the three Xinhua staffers. Significantly, Wu has been staying in India on an extended visa for 6 years. His two colleagues had also been given visa extensions.
As the main mouthpiece of the government, Xinhua is the most influential news agency in China. Its president is said to be a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. While Xinhua was said to have confirmed the development in Beijing, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) chose not to officially comment on the issue.
The decision to not renew the visas of Chinese journalists comes in the middle of a blow-up between the two nations over Beijing’s fastidiousness in denying India membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India, a non-NPT signatory, has singled out China for creating “procedural hurdles” to block its membership. Beijing has stood its ground saying that NPT, which India refuses to sign, remained the cornerstone of the international non-proliferation regime.
