In first official comment, India on Thursday said the three Chinese journalists of state-run news agency Xinhua were denied visa extension as there were issues relating to their ‘conduct not being in conformity’ with the provisions of the visa rules.
“This matter has been under discussion for some time now. Visa of the Xinhua bureau chief in New Delhi had expired on the 31st December, 2015, while visas of the two Xinhua correspondents in Mumbai, had expired in March, 2016. When the time came for renewing their visas, there were issues relating to their conduct not being in conformity with the provisions of the visa rules.
“Short-term extensions were given to them in the expectation that they would be replaced. Thereafter, we made it clear to Xinhua that it would not be possible for us to extend the visas of the journalists concerned beyond July 31, 2016,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
Asserting that the ministry has been in touch with the Chinese side on this matter, he said government expects no issues when their replacements come in due course.
With the expansion of bilateral ties between India and China, the resident journalists in both countries have a key role in increasing mutual understanding and appreciation and contributing to stronger people to people ties, he said.
In this regard, the MEA will continue to facilitate the work of the resident journalists from all countries and their periodic replacement in accordance with the applicable laws, he added.
