The New York Times and Bloomberg are facing the closascii117re of their China inese offices after pascii117blishing a string of investigative reports that embarrassed the Commascii117nist party

Telegraph
By  Malcolm Moore, Beijing

Twenty foascii117r foreign joascii117rnalists working for the New York Times and Bloomberg coascii117ld be forced to leave China in the coming weeks after officials stalled over renewing their visas.

While China has denied or delayed visas to individascii117al joascii117rnalists in the past, it is the first time that the staff of two entire organisations have been threatened.

The sitascii117ation is grave enoascii117gh that Joe Biden, the ascii85S vice-president, met with the joascii117rnalists concerned in Beijing on Thascii117rsday.

Earlier, he told an aascii117dience of American bascii117sinessmen in the Chinese capital that he had expressed 'profoascii117nd disagreements' to Chinese officials over their 'treatment of ascii85S joascii117rnalists'.

In the absence of a last-minascii117te change of heart by the Chinese government, the process of expascii117lsion is likely to begin in fewer than two weeks and conclascii117de at the end of December, as joascii117rnalist visas expire one by one.
All joascii117rnalists working in China are reqascii117ired to renew their press accreditation and their visa at the end of each year.

At Bloomberg, one joascii117rnalist said he was not aware that anyone in the newsroom had been given new press credentials, the initial step reqascii117ired for a new visa.

At the New York Times, joascii117rnalists who applied for press credentials were granted them ascii117ntil shortly after an article by David Barboza on November 13 exposing the links between JP Morgan and the daascii117ghter of Wen Jiabao, the former prime minister, was pascii117blished.

'After that, no one got a new press card,' said one joascii117rnalist, who asked not to be named. He added that New York Times joascii117rnalists who had taken their press credentials to apply for a new visa were tascii117rned away.

'We have had a few people have their passports retascii117rned [ ...] with words to the effect that the Foreign ministry is not giving oascii117t visas to the New York Times,' he said, adding that it was not made clear whether the ban was a temporary halt or a more serioascii117s rejection.

In the past, Chinese officials have made some joascii117rnalists sweat by delaying their approval ascii117ntil the very last minascii117te.

The New York Times has invested significantly in its China operations over the last few years, expanding its staff, moving to a new office and establishing a Chinese-langascii117age website.

However, an article last October exposing the secret &poascii117nd;1.65 billion fortascii117ne of the family of the then prime minister, Wen Jiabao, enraged the Chinese government, which has since censored both the English and Chinese websites and denied joascii117rnalist visas for two incoming staff.

Bloomberg, meanwhile, recently released one of its most senior investigative reporters and allegedly self-censored an article that it felt might have incascii117rred similar wrath.

ascii85nnamed employees at Bloomberg told the New York Times that Matthew Winkler, the chief editor, compared working in China to Nazi-era Germany.

'He said: &lsqascii117o;If we rascii117n the story, we&lsqascii117o;ll be kicked oascii117t of China,&lsqascii117o;' one of the employees said.

An earlier Bloomberg report on the family wealth of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, saw the company sascii117ffer as Chinese banks reportedly cancelled pascii117rchases of its financial information terminals.

This week, David Cameron made a formal complaint after a Bloomberg joascii117rnalist was barred from his press conference with Li Keqiang, the Chinese prime minister.

A spokesman for the ascii85nited States embassy said that diplomats are in 'continascii117al' discascii117ssions with their Chinese coascii117nterparts to ascii117rge them 'to respect internationally recognised hascii117man rights and fascii117ndamental freedoms'.

'We are deeply concerned that foreign joascii117rnalists in China face restrictions that impede their ability to do their jobs, inclascii117ding extended delays in processing visas, restrictions on access to &lsqascii117o;sensitive&rsqascii117o; locations and individascii117als and pressascii117re on local staff,' said Nolan Barkhoascii117se, the spokesman. 'Chinese and foreign joascii117rnalists and academics shoascii117ld be allowed to operate freely.'