China Eases Licensing Rules For Foreign Media Sources

The New York Times reports that China has "agreed to loosen restrictions on foreign news and information providers inside the country, settling a trade dispute with the United States, the European Union and Canada." Formerly, all such news sources required licensing through China's official Xinhua News Agency. Note that the focus seems to be on financial reporting and information, rather than all forms of news reporting.

Comments

Re:Press visas

[Raynor]

If I could be a superhero
I'd be Immigration dude
I'd send all the foreigners back to their homes
For eating up all of our food
And taking our welfare and best jobs to boot
Like landscaping, dishwashing, picking our fruit
I'd pass a lot of laws to get rid of their food
'Cause I'd be Immigration Dude

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1q2XH1Q3O8

Re:Press visas

[BWJones]

There's no reason to get a journalist visa unless you're a bonafide journalist. I saw that you took pictures of the toilets - no serious journalist would pull stuff like that, it's a guaranteed mark of the China greenhorn.

Ah, thanks for your astute commentary on something you obviously know bollocks about. I have some "news" for you... that is my personal blog and I can put anything I want in it. What gets published in the press is another story entirely.

I have some more "news" for you. This problem you cite of people not wanting to return to China is a demographic one. I am seeing educated people returning to China in droves. They have seen the promise and prosperity possible there and are making a killing. The sight of Porsches and BMWs filling the streets in Chengdu was a surprise to say the least.

You obviously have a bias against the press or know absolutely nothing about the profession. Either that or you get all your news from Fox, because most journalists I know are remarkably unbiased in their reporting in all corners of the world. China is changing and while they used to have more problems than they currently do with issues of transparency related to human rights, they have much to show the rest of the world now. Granted there are problems with such rapid growth, but the country is so different from what it was just 10 years ago.