中国、英ＢＢＣを「フェイクニュース」と非難　中部の洪水報道で

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】中国政府は２９日、中部で発生した洪水をめぐり、英ＢＢＣが「フェイクニュース」を報道しており、中国人に不人気なのは当然だと非難した。（写真は資料写真）
　ＢＢＣは、洪水を取材した記者がネット上で激しい批判を受け、別のメディアも現地で嫌がらせを受けていると指摘し、「外国人記者を危険にさらす攻撃が続いている」と述べた。
　これに対し、中国外務省の趙立堅報道官は２９日、ＢＢＣを「フェイクニュース放送局」と呼び、「中国を攻撃して中傷し、ジャーナリズムの基準を大きく逸脱している」と非難した。
　さらに、ＢＢＣが「中国国民に不人気」なのは当然で、「理由のない憎しみなど存在しない」と述べた。
　発端は、中国共産党の青年組織である河南共産主義青年団が２７日、ソーシャルメディアで、ＢＢＣの記者の動向を追跡するようフォロワー１６０万人に呼び掛けたことだった。
　この投稿をきっかけに、愛国主義的なネットユーザーがＢＢＣの記者に殺害予告をする事態となった。
　中国外国人記者クラブは声明で、河南省鄭州市で取材中の記者が怒れる地元民に囲まれてつかみかかられ、中国人アシスタントには「脅迫メッセージ」が届いたと述べた。
　さらに、「中国共産党に属する組織の発言が、中国で活動する外国人記者の身体的安全を直接危険にさらし、自由な報道を妨げている」と訴えた。
　ＡＦＰの記者も浸水したトンネルの取材中、鄭州の住民に映像を削除するよう迫られ、男性数十人に囲まれた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/07/30-13:55）

Beijing on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the BBC, accusing it of broadcasting fake news and saying the organisation was naturally unpopular over its coverage of devastating floods in central China.
The broadside by the foreign ministry comes after the BBC called on Beijing to put a stop to the harassment of its journalists by nationalists who have accused foreign media of biased reporting.
Days of heavy rain last week sparked record flooding in the central province of Henan that has claimed the lives of at least 99 people.
The BBC said its reporters covering the deluge had been subjected to online vitriol, while other outlets had been harassed on the ground in attacks which continue to endanger foreign journalists.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday called the broadcaster a Fake News Broadcasting Company that has attacked and smeared China, seriously deviating from journalistic standards.
Zhao said the BBC deserved to be unpopular with the Chinese public and there is no such thing as hatred without reason.
The war of words erupted after a youth branch of China's ruling Communist Party on Tuesday posted comments online calling on its 1.6 million followers to track the movements of BBC reporters.
The comments by the Henan Communist Youth League spurred death threats against BBC correspondents from nationalistic internet users.
A year's rain was dumped on the city of Zhengzhou in just three days last week, leaving 14 people dead and more than 500 commuters trapped when the city's subway system flooded during rush hour.
City and provincial officials have faced calls for accountability, with the wife of one of the subway victims telling local media she would sue the metro operator for negligence.
But despite calls for transparency, foreign journalists have been met with increased hostility as sensitivity towards any negative portrayal of China mounts.
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said in a statement that reporters in Zhengzhou had been surrounded by angry locals and grabbed, while Chinese news assistants had received threatening messages.
Rhetoric from organisations affiliated with China's ruling Communist Party directly endangers the physical safety of foreign journalists in China and hinders free reporting, it warned.
Reporters from AFP were forced by hostile Zhengzhou residents to delete footage and were surrounded by dozens of men while reporting on a submerged traffic tunnel.
Zhao on Thursday said foreign correspondents enjoy an open and free reporting environment in China.
But press freedom groups say the space for overseas reporters to operate is tightening, with journalists followed on the streets, suffering harassment online and refused visas.
Officials and state media have long accused Western news organisations of anti-China bias.
Senior BBC correspondent John Sudworth even fled the country earlier this year following a targeted campaign against the BBC over its coverage of rights abuses in the Xinjiang region.