As Winter Olympics Near, China Ups Intimidation of Foreign Media 

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - In six months, throngs of foreign media will arrive in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. They may be welcomed by a wide-ranging Chinese government campaign to foment public anger against Western journalists, who have been increasingly harassed because of their reporting.   Long thread: Yesterday @aliceysu and I were out in Zhengzhou when we were surrounded by an angry mob. 1/11 pic.twitter.com/goGDlzx7iU 1/ FCCC Statement on Harassment of Reporters Covering Henan Floods 7/27/2021The Foreign Correspondents Club of China is very concerned to witness the recent online and offline harassment of journalists covering devastating floods in the Chinese province of Henan this month. When WSJ, FT, Reuters and (briefly) NYT were able to run unblocked Chinese websites inside China, trust in foreign media was extremely highMaybe we should try that again and see what happens? https://t.co/G5EDykqUAy

Chinese state media, diplomats, and other officials have conducted a months-long effort to stoke hostility toward reporters and outlets they accuse of spreading lies about China. Recently, Beijing has targeted the BBC, which has done extensive reporting on China's reeducation camps for Uyghur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang.   But reporters from many other publications have been caught in the fray. Last month, angry crowds surrounded and briefly detained a pair of German and U.S. journalists reporting on floods in the Chinese province of Henan. The locals accused the reporters of spreading anti-China rumors. Since then, several news outlets reported receiving death threats and other intimidating phone calls.