French journalist to be thrown out of China for ‘championing terrorism’

A French journalist is to be thrown out of China which has accused her of “flagrantly championing” terrorist acts. Ursula Gauthier, a Beijing-based correspondent for French news magazine L'Obs, must issue a public apology for an article she wrote last month or her press credentials will not be renewed,  China’s foreign ministry said on Saturday. Her story, which suggested China was using the Paris attacks as cover for suppression of Uighur Muslims, “flagrantly championed acts of terrorism and acts of cruelly killing innocents, triggering the Chinese people’s outrage,” the foreign ministry added in a statement.

China will never support the freedom to champion terrorism

Chinese foreign ministry statement

Gauthier’s article referred to China’s anti-terrorism policies in the country’s western region of Xinjiang, homeland of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority – many of whom complain of discrimination and controls on their culture and religion. It triggered condemnation from Beijing, a virulent campaign in the state-run Global Times and China Daily, as well as thousands of often violent and abusive comments from Chinese Internet users. Gauthier would be the first foreign correspondent to be expelled since the 2012 expulsion of Melissa Chan, correspondent for the English-language service of Al Jazeera.

France will remain committed to the defence of freedom of expression and information throughout the world

French minister of culture and communication Fleur Pellerin

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