The US administration is considering expelling dozens of Chinese diplomats and journalists from the country, as they are believed to be undercover spies.
Earlier this month, the Chinese government announced the expulsion of 13 American journalists from three major newspapers, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Washington Post. Beijing has imposed an obligation on American press organizations operating in China to provide detailed information on financial activities, employee structure and other organizational information. American journalists said they were deported for trying to report on the Covid-19 pandemic inside China.
Meanwhile, President Trump and some members of his administration, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have begun to blame China for the spread of Covid-19, speaking to the international media of "Chinese virus" or "Wuhan virus".
President Trump said he decided to use the term "Chinese virus" in response to allegations made by Beijing government officials that Covid-19 was brought to China by US Army athletes.
Yesterday the news reported by the New York Times that the Trump administration was considering the possibility of expelling a large number of Chinese citizens who work as diplomats or journalists from the United States. In some cases, the White House is also reportedly considering closing the offices of some Chinese media in the United States. According to US administration officials, many US-based Chinese journalists are actually undercover secret agents in the pay of the Ministry of State Security, China's leading external intelligence agency. Some of these alleged 007s would be inducted into the ranks of the China Global Television Network, the foreign language extension of state-owned China Central Television (CCTV).
As early as March 2, the Trump administration had imposed quotas on the number of foreign nationals allowed to work for Chinese media organizations in the United States.
The Chinese media immediately complied with the new directive, recalling over 60 members of their staff to their motherland. However, the White House now believes that a significant number of the 100 Chinese journalists who continue to operate in the United States are undercover secret agents.
Meanwhile, on March 25, the Chinese newspaper The Global Times in English emphasized the news that the #coronavirus was brought to China by an American cyclist, who visited Wuhan in October last year when he participated in the World Military Games.
The news has rebounded on social media across China.