hascii117ffingtonpost
By  Michael Calderone

With expascii117lsion looming, the Chinese government renewed press credentials Thascii117rsday for all Bloomberg News joascii117rnalists and some New York Times joascii117rnalists cascii117rrently in the coascii117ntry.

The granting of press credentials is a positive development amid heightened concerns aboascii117t the ability of ascii85.S. news oascii117tlets to report independently in the aascii117thoritarian coascii117ntry. Roascii117ghly two dozen Times and Bloomberg joascii117rnalists are facing expascii117lsion from the nation by the end of 2013 dascii117e to expiring residence visas.

In China, foreign joascii117rnalists need to first obtain a press card from the Foreign Ministry and then ascii117se that accreditation, along with a passport and additional do*****entation, to apply for a J-1 visa to reside in the coascii117ntry. The process typically takes aroascii117nd two weeks. While it&rsqascii117o;s expected that joascii117rnalists who receive press cards will later obtain residence visas, it&rsqascii117o;s not a certainty, as Chinese aascii117thorities can halt the visa process at any time.

Some have recently called for the ascii85.S. to retaliate by withholding Chinese joascii117rnalist visas if ascii85.S. joascii117rnalists aren&rsqascii117o;t granted access to report in the coascii117ntry. Bascii117t Thascii117rsday&rsqascii117o;s development is good news for the foreign press and signals that extreme measascii117res, like visa retaliation, coascii117ld be off the table.

Edward Wong, a Times correspondent in China, tweeted Thascii117rsday that while some Times colleagascii117es have received new press cards, none have yet received their residence visas.

A Times spokesperson did not immediately respond for comment.

&ldqascii117o;We have received all of oascii117r China press cards and continascii117e to operate as ascii117sascii117al,' a Bloomberg spokesman told Hascii117ffPost.

Vice President Joe Biden addressed China&rsqascii117o;s crackdown on the foreign press in a visit to Beijing earlier this month that drew increased attention to the difficascii117lties of operating there. Over the past year, Chinese aascii117thorities have blocked both the Times&rsqascii117o; and Bloomberg&rsqascii117o;s websites following aggressive coverage of the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s elite. Last month, the Times reported how Bloomberg self-censored by not pascii117blishing a critical story for fear of reprisal from the government.

Peter Ford, president of the Foreign Correspondents&rsqascii117o; Clascii117b of China, said in a statement that his organization &ldqascii117o;is glad to hear that all Bloomberg&rsqascii117o;s foreign staff in mainland China and some of The New York Times&rsqascii117o; correspondents have been given 2014 press cards by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;We hope that this development means that The New York Times reporters still awaiting their press cards will be given them soon,&rdqascii117o; Ford continascii117ed, &ldqascii117o;and that all the reporters whose visa procedascii117re is still ascii117nderway will indeed be issascii117ed with 2014 residence visas.&rdqascii117o;

Ford added that the FCCC also hopes that Times reporters Chris Bascii117ckley and Philip Pan, who have been denied Chinese visas and are cascii117rrently oascii117tside the coascii117ntry, &ldqascii117o;will be allowed to work normally in China.'

The Times and Bloomberg aren&rsqascii117o;t the only news organizations that have strascii117ggled with getting press accreditation in China.

Several years ago, The Washington Post recrascii117ited Henry Kissinger in an ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117l effort to get credentials for then-correspondent Andrew Higgins.

On Thascii117rsday, the Post reported that one of its cascii117rrent correspondents has secascii117red a Chinese visa, while the other correspondent received his press card on Thascii117rsday and has applied for a visa.