Chinese citizens harass foreign media correspondents over Henan floods coverage

Chinese citizens harassed the correspondents of numerous international media outlets on the streets of Zhengzhou city of Henan province, over the weekend. This comes after the Chinese state media lambasted the foreign media over the coverage of floods in the Chinese cities. Hong Kong Free Press reported that even the Chinese social media platform Weibo witnessed a surge in furious posts criticising the coverage of foreign correspondents as the cities in the country recorded heavy downpours and floods. 

The criticism was mainly aimed at BBC’s Chinese correspondent Robin Brant for his report questioning the Chinese government’s policies after over a dozen people died in a train carriage due to the floodings. In the report that was published last Friday, Brant said, “We don't know why they were left so vulnerable” adding that China had warned the other local governments to monitor their own flood preparedness along with other metro regulations. Weibo users, in turn, accused the BBC correspondent of being a “rumour-mongering foreigner" and "seriously distorting the facts" in his reports on the flooding.

"BBC reporter Robin Brant has appeared in disaster-stricken areas of our city many times and has seriously distorted the facts. If you find this person, please call the police immediately," one post on Saturday read.

Several other correspondents harassed

The next day, Beijing Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times Alice Su and Deutsche Welle's China correspondent Mathias Boelinger were also surrounded by an angry crowd of locals who mistook Boelinger for Brant. After the incident, Deutsche Welle's China correspondent tweeted saying, “They kept pushing me yelling that I was a bad guy and that I should stop smearing China. One guy [tried] to snatch my phone.” 

Additionally, correspondents covering Henan floods for Al Jazeera and the Associated Press also took to the social media platform, Twitter about being harassed by crowds while also taking videos and calling on authorities. Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu said that the instances were a "sad sign of increasing anger and suspicion towards foreign media in China.” 

The incidents followed a Global Times report criticising the foreign media for their coverage of floods shattering the “myth” of Zhengzhou as a "sponge city" citing the Chinese government’s 2018 investment of RMB$50 billion [HK$60 billion] to protect the city’s infrastructure during flooding. The state-owned outlet stated, “Chinese observers refuted the reports, noting that these media reiterated the loss, but neglected one fact, that the floods in Fis a once-in-a-century occasion and beyond any city's bearing capacity...They noted that the Zhengzhou government has made its best efforts to limit the loss."

IMAGE: AP