NZ Journalist Barred from China to Cover Trade Deal

ANCHOR:
In New Zealand The Free Trade Agreement with China is dominating the headlines, but along with this is the Tibetan crisis and what has also just unfolded, a New Zealand journalist being denied entry to Beijing to report on the deal. Here's more from our reporter Gina Shakespear.

STORY:
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke and her delegation, along with New Zealand media have packed their bags and are on their way to Beijing to possibly sign a free trade agreement. But one New Zealand journalist who was originally on the delegation list had been denied access by the Chinese embassy.

Mr Wang, who runs a Chinese newspaper in the country's capital, has been denied a visa by the Chinese embassy in Wellington. He says it because he reports on topics the communist party deems sensitive like the Dalai Lama, Tibet, Falun Gong and the Tiananmen Square massacre. Mr Wang is an ethnic Chinese who has a New Zealand passport.

[Nick Wang, New Zealand Journalist]:
"The Chinese Embassy in Wellington answered my question about the reason for refusing my visa and they had no reasons and the consulate said the decision was made by his boss...I asked the boss who? He said he wouldn't tell."

This is not the first time Mr Wang has been suppressed in a democratic country last year he was forcibly removed from a press conference on Parliament grounds by police due to pressure from Chinese Communist Party officials.

Mr Wang is an accredited member of the parliamentary press gallery and has covered events at parliament for nine years.

Miss Clarke addressed the issue at a press conference this week but Mr Wang said she wasn't protecting the rights of New Zealanders. Mr Wang said he expects Miss Clark will lose votes over her actions.

This is Gina Shakespear, NTD, Wellington, New Zealand.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntd
• new
• zealand
• free
• trade
• agreement
• china
• tibet
• journalist
• helen
• clarke

[easternbeach]

he obviously doing sth which is not helping in the deal that with chinese. he deserved the denied entry to china coz his report would be biased in somehow.