Taiwan accuses China of trying to ‘silence’ its president after New York Times reporter expelled
Taiwan accused China of using 'crude methods' to silence its president, Lai Ching-te, after the New York Times reporter Vivian Wang was expelled from Beijing in February following an interview with Lai. The expulsion is part of Beijing’s broader campaign to isolate Taiwan, with China revoking Wang’s visa despite prior agreements and reducing the NYT’s correspondent presence in the country to just one journalist.
Taiwan criticized China’s actions as an attempt to silence President Lai Ching-te after the Chinese government expelled New York Times reporter Vivian Wang in February. Wang’s expulsion followed the newspaper’s interview with Lai during a DealBook summit in New York last December, though she was not involved in conducting it. Taiwan’s presidential office spokesperson, Karen Kuo, condemned China’s use of 'groundless pretexts' to interfere with press freedom, calling it a tactic that highlights China’s instability. The interview with Lai was conducted via video link at the New York Times DealBook summit in May 2023, where he discussed Taiwan’s stance on international relations. China claims Taiwan as a breakaway province and has pressured countries interacting with its democratically elected leadership. Lai’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, asserting that Taiwan’s future should be decided by its people. Wang, who covered China from Beijing since 2022, was previously based in Hong Kong and contributed to the NYT’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Covid-19 coverage. Despite discussions with Chinese authorities, her expulsion was finalized, leaving the NYT with only one correspondent in mainland China—a significant reduction from its previous team of a dozen. Joseph Kahn, the NYT’s executive editor, condemned the decision, calling Wang a respected journalist whose expulsion undermines independent reporting on China. This incident is the latest in a series of tit-for-tat measures between Beijing and Washington, including China’s 2020 expulsion of over a dozen US journalists. The NYT’s reduced presence in China follows a broader trend of restricted media access, with foreign correspondents facing annual visa renewals subject to revocation. Taiwan’s government vowed to continue presenting its stance to the international community despite Beijing’s pressure.
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