The U.S. administration has just labeled five Chinese media organizations as foreign missions, meaning the staff members are not journalists, but foreign government functionaries, subject to similar rules as foreign diplomats.

The move, according to the New York Times, comes at a time "when the U.S. administration has moved aggressively on multiple fronts to fight what officials describe as extensive Chinese influence and intelligence operations in the United States."

Am I surprised? No. This is not the first time that we've been labeled. First, as foreign agents, now as foreign functionaries. I'm sure this is not going to be the last time, either.

But I'm outraged.

I'm outraged because the work those journalists do to help the U.S. general public better understand one fifth of the world's population has just taken a hit. The Chinese media is not there on vacation. They are there to bring a different side of China to the local and international audiences. And it's no secret where these organizations come from. Just like people all know where Voice of America, BBC, France24, DW, or TRT come from. 

If anyone has a problem with any particular reports, they can raise the question and we can talk about it. But to discredit entire media organizations because of the ideology of the country they come from? That's a very cheap and honestly cowardice way out.

I'm outraged because the China-bashing in U.S. mainstream media is likely to go even further in pitching the American people against China. They are already being fed a daily dose of negative rhetoric about China. 

Take this fight against the coronavirus as an example. What we are seeing is piece after piece questioning the system and the efforts of the Chinese government. China was not quick enough when it came to handle the situation in the beginning, but is there a perfect government? It took the U.S. six months to declare a national emergency during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009. Did Chinese journalists all go and chastise the U.S. over that? People call for transparency. I understand that. And I think it's important, too. But in the eyes of the China critics, no amount of transparency will suffice. 

China has made a huge effort, and things have actually improved tremendously. Over 30,000 medical staff from around the country have been brought in to Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, to help. The whole country basically quarantined it-self for two weeks to prevent the virus from spreading among the Chinese people. And hundreds of billions of dollars have been pumped into the market to help businesses survive the financial difficulties. 

How much credit has the U.S. mainstream media given the Chinese government? Hardly any! Is that a fair picture? The Chinese state is not a perfect one, but it is definitely not the "evil" actor it's portrayed to be by many in the American media. Those who complain about China's influence on the American public opinion should be grateful that China has spent money bringing the truth about the world to the American living rooms.

I'm outraged because there is a stark difference when you compare the kind of reaction toward two similar developments concerning the media. China revoked the credentials of three journalists from the Wall Street Journal because of the paper's refusal to retract or apologize for a piece that's deeply offensive to the Chinese people. The world was aghast! Wow, China is stifling freedom of expression. 

But when the U.S. government completely ignores the rules of free press and labels entire media organizations foreign agents or foreign missions, there's deafening silence. By discrediting Chinese media organizations, is the U.S. safeguarding press freedom?

As long as there is a systemic attack and smear campaign against China, either as a country or its people, my colleagues and I have the right and the obligation to speak up and push back. 

Let's not play the game of separating the Chinese government and the Chinese people. Those who attack the Chinese state are doing just the opposite of what they claim, which is to help the Chinese people. Take a look at what is being done about the virus. Without a strong country, where the government and people work as one, not only would China be at stake, but the whole world too.

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