The United Nations denied reporting access to journalists from the anti-China outlet The Epoch Times and its sister media NTD. The Epoch Times is a leading anti-China outlet that has focused on reporting on the Chinese Communist Party's human rights abuses. Critics say the U.N., which should defend freedom of expression, blocked the reporting activities of a U.S. media outlet while watching China's reaction.
According to The Epoch Times on the 24th (local time), Emel Akan, a senior White House correspondent with the outlet, headed to New York on the 22nd with the State Department press pool to cover the U.N. General Assembly schedules of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Akan said she applied for temporary press credentials for U.N. coverage through the State Department and received an email instructing her to pick them up in New York.
But the situation changed at the General Assembly site. A State Department official told Akan that "the U.N. rejected the application." The U.N. cited the reason that it "considers The Epoch Times to be a nongovernmental organization (NGO), not a news outlet." Two NTD reporters from the sister broadcaster were also denied access with a notice that they were "not qualified."
The Epoch Times pushed back immediately. Jasper Fakkert, editor-in-chief of The Epoch Times, issued a statement on the 23rd, saying, "The Epoch Times is the fourth-largest newspaper in the United States," and added, "It is unacceptable for the U.N. to capitulate to the Chinese Communist Party's censorship efforts on American soil."
The Epoch Times said it asked the U.N. multiple times whether the Chinese Communist Party had influenced the decision to deny access, but the U.N. Spokesperson deflected, saying inquiries should be directed to the responsible department.
The Epoch Times is known as a conservative outlet affiliated with Falun Gong. It was founded in 2000 by Chinese Americans living in the United States to counter censorship and human rights violations in China. It is now published in 22 languages in 33 countries. From its early days, The Epoch Times focused on reporting that targeted the Chinese Communist Party's wrongdoings and faced intense pressure. Reporters who remained in mainland China in the early days were arrested and tortured, and some were sentenced to 10 years in prison. In Hong Kong, reporters and printing facilities were attacked, and the outlet said it also suffered relentless cyberattacks.
Allegations of Chinese influence over The Epoch Times have been raised for a long time. The Epoch Times and NTD claimed there were signs of "Chinese pressure" during their coverage of human rights bodies in Geneva in 2003 and 2004. The Epoch Times also said that in 2019 the U.N. denied Akan's application to cover the General Assembly without providing specific reasons.
China's pressure on and influence over the U.N. has surfaced in other areas as well. According to an investigation conducted this year jointly by The Washington Post and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), GONGOs (government-organized NGOs) linked to the Chinese government systematically carried out activities at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to weaken various critics targeting China.
In particular, despite repeated calls from the United States and other countries, the U.N. has for years excluded Taiwan from the U.N. General Assembly as well as various forums such as the World Health Organization (WHO). Taiwan is currently not even invited as an observer without voting rights. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) issued an official statement criticizing the U.N. after it repeatedly refused to issue press credentials to Taiwanese journalists.
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said in an interview with The Epoch Times that "the Chinese regime is systemically manipulating the U.N." and argued that "even as it commits human rights abuses, it is applying all-around pressure on the U.N. to cover them up."