Beijing urges Taiwan to re-permit Xinhua, People's Daily reporters into island

Li Weiyi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, expressed on June 29the hope that the Taiwan authorities will change their wrong doings as soon as possible and re-permit Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily journalists into the island for news coverage.

He made the remarks at a routine press conference in Beijing.

The Taiwan authorities suspended the two news organizations' right to send correspondents to Taiwan to cover local news in late March.

"Both news agencies across the Taiwan straits recently expressed their concerns about the event, which came up when discussing journalism exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan," Li Weiyi said.

"It is a breach of reporting rights and a rude interference in the journalism exchanges between the straits," Li said.

Beijing has authorized 13 Taiwan-based media organizations to report from the mainland, including recently permitting reporters of SEPN TV in Beijing and Shanghai and allowing CTI TV to add reporters in Beijing, according to Li Weiyi.

At the press conference Li said, "We are not in favor of a request the 'Mainland Affairs Council under Executive Yuan' has recently put forward, which said that mainland people who enter Taiwan should have their thumb prints taken."

"We are opposed to it because it is a measure of discrimination against the mainland people," he added.

Source: Xinhua