The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

China: three Wall Street Journal correspondents expelled over an opinion headline

ChinaRSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

China's foreign ministry expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents and revoked their press credentials after an opinion column, unrelated to their own reporting, used a headline the ministry called offensive.123

What happened

On February 19, 2020, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered three Wall Street Journal correspondents in Beijing, deputy bureau chief Josh Chin and reporters Chao Deng and Philip Wen, to leave the country within five days and revoked their press credentials. The order came more than two weeks after the newspaper ran an opinion column by an outside academic, Hudson Institute scholar Walter Russell Mead, under the headline "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia," discussing the coronavirus outbreak's economic effects. None of the three expelled journalists had written or edited the column. Foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang called the headline "racist" and cited it as the basis for the expulsions. The Wall Street Journal's own reporters had separately criticized the headline as a poor editorial choice, but the paper declined to apologize on the newsroom's behalf for a piece written by an unrelated outside contributor.123

The expulsions were carried out as ordered; the source reviewed does not report any reversal.123

What reason was given

Stated justification

Foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang characterized the opinion headline as "racist" and cited it as the basis for revoking the journalists' press credentials.1

What changed for reporting

Three working Wall Street Journal correspondents lost their accreditation and were made to leave China within five days over content that none of them had written, reducing the paper's Beijing reporting capacity during the early coronavirus outbreak.123

Timeline

2020

19 February 2020
China: three Wall Street Journal correspondents expelled over an opinion headline

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
Geng ShuangorderedSpokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Xi JinpingotherPresident of China

Outlets and journalists

NameKindRelation
The Wall Street Journaloutletaffected
Chao Dengjournalist, The Wall Street Journalaffected
Josh Chinjournalist, The Wall Street Journalaffected
Philip Wenjournalist, The Wall Street Journalaffected

Sources

  1. China expels 3 Wall Street Journal journalists over opinion headlineCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2020-02-19, reporting. Source record
  2. Factbox: Foreign journalists forced to leave China as diplomatic tensions worsenReuters, 2020-09-08, reporting. Source record
  3. China journalist association blasts US visa limitsAssociated Press, 2020-03-06, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. Geng Shuang called the opinion headline racist and used it as the basis for the expulsion order.China's expulsion of three accredited correspondents in reaction to what it sees as an offensive headline makes the country appear less like a confident rising power than a thin-skinned bullyChina expels 3 Wall Street Journal journalists over opinion headline, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2020-02-19.Claim 497, checked 2026-09-22.
  2. China's foreign ministry ordered three named Wall Street Journal correspondents to leave the country over the headline.Josh Chin (Deputy bureau chief), Chao Deng (Reporter), Philip Wen (Reporter)China expels 3 Wall Street Journal journalists over opinion headline, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2020-02-19.Claim 562, checked 2026-09-22.
  3. The triggering opinion column ran under the headline about the coronavirus outbreak's economic effects, written by an outside scholar rather than any of the three expelled correspondents.China Is the Real Sick Man of AsiaChina expels 3 Wall Street Journal journalists over opinion headline, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2020-02-19.Claim 563, checked 2026-09-22.