The Meaning of China’s Crackdown On the Foreign Press

[Commentary] The Chinese government is threatening to expel nearly two dozen foreign correspondents, working for the New York Times and Bloomberg News, in retaliation for investigations that exposed the private wealth of Chinese leaders. It is the Chinese government’s most dramatic attempt to insulate itself from scrutiny in the thirty-five years since China began opening to the world.

We won’t know if it’s prepared to follow through on the threat for another week or two, when correspondents’ annual visas begin to expire. So far, it has declined to renew them. Unless the government changes course, reporters and their dependents will be required to leave the country before the end of 2013. But following through is only part of the point. The real purpose is intimidation: to compel foreign news organizations to adopt a more compliant posture in their daily decisions, small and large. In attempting to shield themselves from the gaze of the world, the new generation of Chinese leaders has unwittingly provided one of the clearest views yet into their thinking, and their self-perception, as they confront the challenges that will define China’s future.