Jump to content

Ursula Gauthier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Crtew (talk | contribs) at 17:47, 5 May 2016 (References). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ursula Gauthier
Born
Ursula Gauthier

19??
NationalityFrench
OccupationJournalist
EmployerL'Obs
Known forGetting expelled from China

Ursula Gauthier is a French journalist and sinologist. Gauthier was a reporter in China for L'Obs. In December 2015, her visa was not renewed and she was forced to leave the country after she published an article about Muslims in Xinjiang which Chinese government officials disapproved of.[1][2][3] A Chinese government Foreign Ministry spokesman suggested Gauthier's article "openly supports terrorist activity, the killing of innocents and has outraged the Chinese public."[4]

Personal

Ursula Gauthier is a long time journalist[5] that was working as a foreign correspondent for the French news organization L'Bos in China before she was exiled from the country in December 2015 for an article she wrote about the treatment of Muslims in China.[1] More specifically she was writing about how the Chinese police killed several Uighur people in Xinjiang, all of whom they said were linked to an attack on a coal mine that happened in September. The controversy arose when her article questioned the validity of the report released by the Minister of Public Safety which painted the ordeal as a great victory for the Chinese people, but according to independent sources Gauthier found, many of the people killed were women and children.[4][6]

Career

Gauthier had spent the past six years reporting for L'Obs from Beijing, before she was forced to leave.[7]

Exile from China

After writing an article in response to the November 2015 Paris attacks that was released on November 18, 2015 titled "After the attacks, the solidarity of China is not without ulterior motives"[6][8] Gauthier was accused of supporting terrorism by Chinese officials after her article was seen as being critical of the ruling class, and their handling of Xinjiang Muslims. After the accusation was made, her press credentials were effectively revoked, and as a result of this so was her visa, and she was given the choice to eitherleave China before January 1, 2016, or apologize to the people of China. She ended up leaving China before the start of the new year.[9]

Impact

Gauthier is the first foreign journalist since Melissa Chan of Al Jazeera in 2012 to be exiled from China.[10] According to Gauthier, her being expelled from China was only a scare tactic by the Chinese government to dissuade journalist from wanting to report from Beijing in the future.[11] China's decision to exile Ursula Gauthier comes as little surprise to some considering their ranking[12] on the Press Freedom Index.

Reactions

News organizations from all over the world have reported about Gauthier's exile from China from the New York Times[13] to Al Jazeera[14] in Qatar. Most reactions from journalist, and news organizations alike were not in favor of the Chinese governments decision to expel Ursula Gauthier from the country. Although the Global Times (a Chinese newspaper) applauded the decision to have her removed from the country, and even went as far as publishing an article citing a survey they conducted that showed 95% of the people surveyed supported the governments decision.[15] The Committee to Protect Journalists released the results from the Foreign Correspondents Club of China's annual survey results. The survey assess the amount of trouble (such as how easy it is to get access to certain areas, or how quickly a journalist receives their Chinese visa) that foreign journalist face while trying to report on stories going on in China.[16] The survey concluded that the treatment of Ursula Gauthier by the Chinese government, and the Chinese press, which consisted of public shaming, that resulted in death threats and personal attacks was comparable to abuse.[17]

See also

Bibliography

  • Vent et poussière (Paris: Editions Denoël, 1995, 368 pages).
  • Le Volcan chinois : dans les entrailles du Grand Dragon (Paris: Editions Denoël, 1998, 304 pages).

References

  1. ^ a b Phillips, Tom (December 26, 2015). "French journalist accuses China of intimidating foreign press". The Guardian. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  2. ^ Page, Jeremy (December 27, 2015). "China Effectively Expels French Journalist Over Critical Article: Ursula Gauthier says she will not apologize for story about mostly Muslim region of Xinjiang". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  3. ^ Phillips, Tom (December 31, 2015). "Ursula Gauthier: foreign media must fight China censorship, says expelled journalist". The Guardian. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Wee, Sui-Lee (December 31, 2015). "French journalist forced to leave China after article on Xinjiang". Reuters. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  5. ^ citation needed
  6. ^ a b Gauthier, Ursula (November 18, 2015). "After the attacks, the solidarity of China is not without ulterior motives". L'Obs. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  7. ^ Wang, Kevin (December 28, 2015). "French journalist Ursula Gauthier kicked out of China for slamming Beijing's Uyghur policy". CNN. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  8. ^ Le Monde.fr staff (December 30, 2015). "The expulsion from China of our colleague Ursula Gauthier is unjustifiable". Le Monde.fr. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  9. ^ Kaiman, Jonathan (December 26, 2015). "China will boot French journalist for article criticizing ruling party". LA Times. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  10. ^ Rauhala, Emily (December 26, 2015). "China expels French journalists for terrorism coverage". Washington Post. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  11. ^ Tang, Didi (December 26, 2015). "China expels French reporter who questioned terrorism". Associated Press. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  12. ^ Index (2015). "World Press Freedom Rankings 2015". Reporters Without Boarders Index. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  13. ^ Forsythe, Michael (December 22, 2015). "Journalist Says China May Expel Her for Article on Uighurs". New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  14. ^ Human Rights (December 26, 2015). "China to expel French journalist over Uighur report". Al Jazeera. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  15. ^ Tiantian, Bai (December 28, 2015). "Survey shows 95% support French reporter's expulsion". Global Times. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  16. ^ cpj staff (April 4, 2016). "Foreign press in China face fewer visa delays but obstacles remain, FCCC finds". Committee to Protect Journalist. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  17. ^ FCCC (April 4, 2016). "Foreign Correspondents' Club of China's annual survey" (PDF). FCCC. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ursula_Gauthier&oldid=718796899"