Expelled journalist warns of dangers in Chinese crackdown on media

A reporter forced to leave Beijing after being accused of supporting terrorism arrived home in France on Friday warning of dark days ahead for journalists working in China. Ursula Gauthier, who was expelled over an article criticising government policy in violence-racked Xinjiang, said: "What happened with this small article about Xinjiang could happen with anything else. This could be really dangerous in the future.“ The world should be "concerned about what is going on here, not because it is a journalist, not only because of the freedom of press, but also because it is about China and what China is doing to its minorities, and even its majority, the problem is the same,” she added.

This has been a month and a half of madness. We must not expel a journalist who was just doing her job, who just wrote an article, who knows the situation

Ursula Gauthier

In her story for L'Obs, Gauthier questioned China’s motives in expressing sympathy for the victims of the November 13 Paris attacks, writing that they were calculated to tie Beijing’s harsh policies in Xinjiang into the fight against global terrorism. The veteran reporter, who has spent six years in China, suggested that violence by Uighurs against civilians in the region – where clashes have killed hundreds in recent years – was in part driven by resentment of government policies. As she arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport she said: “I didn’t write that I supported terrorism, I never supported terrorism in my article. I was simply explaining that the Uighurs’ anger came from somewhere, just like we can explain the origin of the anger of young Arabs who become radicalised, there are roots to it.”

This is an unacceptable attack on freedom of information and creates a real obstacle for journalism in China

L'Obs director Matthieu Croissandeau

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