Polish Journalists Denied Accreditation Due to Chinese Pressure

One of the journalists says that her criticism of Beijing’s human rights track record and her signing of an open letter ahead of President Xi’s visit last month are behind Warsaw’s giving in to Beijing’s demand that she be sidelined 

A polish journalist critical of China’s human rights record claims that she and at least one other reporter were unable to receive proper accreditation to cover President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to Poland last month due to Beijing’s pressure on the Prime Minster’s Office in Warsaw. 

In yet another sign of China’s growing influence in Eastern Europe and the consequent impact on press freedom, Hania Shen, a journalist with Gazeta Polska Codziennie, says that she and another journalist were denied the accreditation required to be able to cover Xi’s separate meetings with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. 

My article, published today in The News Lens International, continues here.