CBC closes Beijing bureau after Chinese government refuses journalist visa

CBC/Radio-Canada closed its Beijing bureau after the Chinese government refused to provide a journalist visa for the broadcaster’s new China correspondent. 

CBC contacted the Chinese consulate in Montreal in October 2020, seeking a visa for Radio-Canada journalist Philippe Leblanc, reported CBC. After two years of correspondence with Chinese officials, including a letter from CBC to the Chinese ambassador in Canada, the government continued to ignore CBC’s visa request. 

Leblanc will cover the region from a new bureau in Taiwan, CBC reported.