20/02/2020 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 20 February, Virginie Battu, the spokesperson for EU foreign affairs and security policy condemned the announcement made the previous day by the Chinese authorities that they had revoked the credentials of three Wall Street Journal reporters. They will be expelled as retaliation for an opinion piece with a title that Beijing deems racist. In a statement, Battu said that “the denial of visas and the revocation of credentials in retaliation for the publication of an opinion piece are of concern and amount to further restrictions on freedom of expression and opinion”, adding that in recent months there have been other reports of visa denials and restrictions on visa extensions for journalists. She promised that “we will continue to discuss the human rights situation in our bilateral dialogue with our Chinese counterparts”. (CG)