Reporters covering the Chinese Foreign Minister’s tour of the Pacific say they have been blocked from filming or accessing events and that no question from a Pacific journalist has been allowed to be asked to Wang Yi.
The allegations raise serious concerns about press freedom and concerns about the ability of Pacific journalists to do their jobs, especially as relations between the region and China become closer.
Wang is in the middle of a marathon trip, visiting eight countries in 10 days. So far, he has held bilateral meetings in the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji, with trips to Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.
At each stop, Wang has signed bilateral agreements, but has not yet answered a single question from a Pacific journalist who was instructed at the beginning of the press conferences that no issues would be resolved.
Movono, a Fijian journalist who wrote for the Guardian, said she had witnessed numerous attempts by Chinese officials to limit journalists’ ability to cover the event during her tour of Fiji.
“There was a lot of secrecy from the beginning, no transparency, no access,” she said.
She said media outlets that were allowed to cover the visit – including her – had been stripped of their media passes without explanation and that she and her operator had been ordered by police to leave the lobby of the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva. , where they were ready to film the start of a meeting between Wang and Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama on Monday.
On Sunday, when the media was set to film Wang’s arrival at the Pacific Islands Forum building to meet with his secretary-general, Henry Pune, ABC was blocked from filming, although it was allowed to do so. The Pacific Islands Forum intervened to allow the filming to continue, but Movono said Chinese officials were standing in front of the camera, trying to block the footage.
Movono said Wang and Bainimarama’s joint press conference on Monday afternoon was chaired by Chinese officials.
“The press briefing itself was led by the visiting government, the press passes were issued by the Chinese government,” she said. “They instructed us that we would not be allowed to ask questions. When some of us still asked questions, a Chinese government official called to stop.
Movono said that when a journalist called questions, he was ordered to leave the room and an assistant tried to escort him before fellow journalists intervened to protect him.
“I was quite worried about what I saw,” Movono said. “When you live in Fiji, you get used to the militarized nature of the place, but seeing Chinese officials do it was quite disturbing.” Being a journalist in Fiji means worrying about imprisonment all the time. Journalism is criminalized. You could be in jail or the company you work for could be fined a crippling amount that could stop the operation … But to see foreigners pushing you back to your own country was a different level. “
At Wang’s first stop in Solomon Islands, the Solomon Islands Media Association (MASI) boycotted the coverage of the visit, as many journalists were blocked from attending Wang’s press conference, citing Covid-19 restrictions.
There were only two resolved issues, one from a Solomon journalist to the Isles’ foreign minister and one from the Chinese media to Wang.
At Wang’s bus stops in Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji, no issues were resolved during a press conference held by political leaders announcing bilateral deals.
MASI President Georgina Kekea said the lack of access for journalists during the visit raised serious concerns about press freedom, which she said was usually quite strong in the Solomon Islands.
“It’s quite worrying for us, we really have a good freedom to do our job, but when it comes to these events, they seem to be blocking us,” she said. “Something to do with China, everyone seems to be behind closed doors with it… That’s very disappointing.”
Shailendra Singh, an associate professor of journalism at the University of South Pacific in Fiji, said the lack of access raises many questions. “The lack of access of journalists to the foreign minister is deeply worrying. This contradicts the democratic principles of the countries in the region and the role of the media in a free society.
“Our governments keep the media out of their own volition or at the request of the Chinese?” What next? Will the media be banned from asking questions to our local politicians and leaders? … This is an alarming trend that must stop. “
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