Taiwan bars China reporter from work for spreading fake news

TAIPEI: Taiwan authorities have barred a reporter for a television network in China from working on the island, accusing him of spreading “fake news” at a time of heightened cross-strait tensions.

It is the first time a mainland Chinese reporter has been banned from the island for “creating cross-strait conflict,” according to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), which handles official affairs with China.

It said the decision was due to multiple incidents in which Ye Qinglin, from Southeast Television in China’s Fujian province, breached rules governing Chinese media in Taiwan.

The rules say that Chinese press should stick to a pre-approved plan and follow the principles of fair and objective reporting.

Ye had regularly been sent to Taiwan on assignment for the past 10 years but his latest application to re-enter had been rejected, the MAC said.

“The government respects and protects press freedom, but we definitely will not allow Chinese press to spread false information through fake news,” it said in a statement.

The council’s spokesman Chui Chui-cheng said in an interview that Ye had in the past attempted to report at military bases without authorisation.

Ye also sparked controversy in February when he accused a Japanese rescue team sent in after a deadly earthquake in Taiwan’s Hualien city of refusing to go into a badly damaged building out of fear for their safety.

Authorities said at the time it was untrue and some social media users blamed Ye for trying to dent Taiwan’s relations with Japan, one of its key allies.

Ye frequently criticises leader Tsai Ing-wen and her policies on his Facebook page and supports Beijing’s belief that Taiwan belongs to China.

In retaliation, Taiwan — which is a self-ruling democracy and sees itself as a sovereign nation — has said it would tighten screening for Chinese officials applying to visit the island.

Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the ban on Ye was a “bad precedent” and that Chinese reporters in Taiwan provided “objective and fair reports”.