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Ursula Gauthier is a French journalist and
sinologist Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...
. Gauthier was a reporter in China for ''
L'Obs (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...
''. In December 2015, her visa was not renewed and she was forced to leave the country after she published an article about
Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
in
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
which Chinese government officials disapproved of. A Chinese government Foreign Ministry spokesman suggested Gauthier's article "openly supports terrorist activity, the killing of innocents and has outraged the Chinese public."


Personal

Ursula Gauthier is a long time journalist that was working as a foreign correspondent for the French news organization L'Obs in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
before she was expelled from the country in December 2015 for an article she wrote about the treatment of Uighurs in China. She was writing on Chinese police killing several Uighur people in Xinjiang which she claimed included women and children, all of whom they said were linked to an attack on a coal mine that happened in September. The controversy arose when Gauthier claimed that "abuse, injustice, expropriation" of Uighurs "probably" triggered retribution in the form of the mass slaughter at the coal mine. Gauthier claimed that many experts doubt that ETIM, the jihadist Uighur
East Turkestan Islamic Movement The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) or the Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM), formerly known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other names, is a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Western China. Its stated goals a ...
accused by the Chinese government to be the organizer of all violent attacks in Xinjiang, poses any real threat inside China and that some experts deny ETIM's existence. She claimed that ETIM is not classified anymore as terrorist by the USA.


Career

Gauthier had spent six years reporting for L'Obs from
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
before she was forced to leave.


Expulsion from China

Gauthier wrote an article about the Chinese leaders' reaction to the
November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
that was released on November 18, 2015, titled "After the attacks, the solidarity of China is not without ulterior motives." She was accused of supporting terrorism by Chinese officials and Chinese
state media State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or indirectly. There are different types of state and government media. State-controlled or state-run media a ...
, such as the ''
Global Times The ''Global Times'' () is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the ''People's Daily'', commenting on international issues from a Chinese ultra-nationalistic perspective. The publi ...
'' and ''
China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
'', after her article was seen as being critical of the ruling class and their handling of Xinjiang Muslims. After these accusations, the press credentials of Gauthier were effectively revoked, and as a result of this so was her visa, and she was given the choice to either leave China before January 1, 2016, or apologize to the people of China. She ended up leaving China before the start of the new year.


Impact

Gauthier is the first foreign journalist since Melissa Chan of
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
in 2012 to be expelled from China. According to Gauthier, her being expelled from China was a scare tactic by the Chinese government to dissuade foreign journalists from criticizing Chinese policies, especially those involving Xinjiang, from within China. China's decision to expel Ursula Gauthier comes as little surprise to some considering the country's ranking on the
Press Freedom Index The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to ...
.


Reactions

News organizations from all over the world have reported Gauthier's expulsion from China from the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
to Al Jazeera in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
. French journalists and press executives published a collective open letter condemning her expulsion. Most reactions from journalists and news organizations alike were not in favor of the Chinese government's decision to expel Ursula Gauthier. The
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
released the results from the Foreign Correspondents Club of China's annual survey results. The survey assessed the amount of trouble (such as how easy it is to gain access to certain areas, or how quickly a journalist receives her or his Chinese visa) that foreign journalist face while trying to report on stories going on in China. The survey concluded that the treatment of Ursula Gauthier by the Chinese government, and the Chinese press, which resulted in death threats and personal attacks, were comparable to abuse.


See also

*
Melissa Chan Melissa Chan (, )Melissa Chan's profile
on Sina blog.
is a Chinese American ...


Bibliography

*''Vent et poussière'' (Paris: Editions Denoël, 1995, 368 pages). *''Le Volcan chinois : dans les entrailles du Grand Dragon'' (Paris: Editions Denoël, 1998, 304 pages).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauthier, Ursula Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century French journalists 21st-century French writers French sinologists Censorship in China French women screenwriters French screenwriters Women orientalists 21st-century French screenwriters 21st-century French women