WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday tightened rules on six more Chinese media organisations, saying that they are propaganda outlets that answer to the state.

It was the third round of US designations of Chinese outlets as “foreign missions,” which requires them to report details on their US-based staff and real estate transactions to the State Department.

The outlets will face no restrictions on their reporting, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a news conference.

“While free media around the world are beholden to the truth, PRC media are beholden to the CCP,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said, referring to the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.

“The United States is publicly recognising that reality through these designations,” she said.

The six organisations newly designated as foreign missions are Yicai Global, Jiefang Daily, Xinmin Evening News, Social Sciences in China Press, Beijing Review and Economic Daily.

The State Department earlier enforced rules on nine better-known outlets including the Xinhua news agency and China Global Television Network.

China has denounced the regulations and retaliated by expelling US citizens who work for major news organisations including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

Some media rights advocates, while accepting that Chinese outlets are beholden to the state, have voiced unease about the US measures, saying that they give Beijing a pretext to kick out journalists who have done valuable investigative work on human rights and the origins of Covid-19.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2020