Chinese Ambassador to Paris, Lu Shaye, once again lashes out at French journalists he accuses of “lying” about his country. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) insists that a diplomat has no right to give journalism lessons, especially when representing one of the worst regimes in the world when it comes to press freedom.
In a statement in a vengeful tone published on Monday, 25 October 2021, Chinese ambassador in Paris Lu Shaye, a repeat offender infamous for his diatribes against the media, again harasses French journalists. This time, he attacks the Asia correspondent for daily newspaper Le Figaro, Sébastien Falletti, who, in an article “puffed up with lies and divagation” he published on 19th October, allegedly “twisted the neck of reality” and was “complacent” in regards to the Taiwanese government.The ambassador also grazes Le Monde‘s correspondent in Beijing, Frédéric Lemaître, implying that his writings are most often fabricated, and shamelessly urges French media outlets in general to “scrupulously observe ethics” and “respect the facts”.
“The Chinese ambassador in Paris, who represents one of the worst regimes in the world in terms of press freedom, is extremely ill-positioned to give journalism lessons,” says RSF’s Secretary General Christophe Deloire. “We call him, with all requested courtesy, to put a definitive end to his impassioned rants against information media. If Lu Shaye thinks the French press is too independent for his taste, he is free to request his transfer to an authoritarian country, such as North Korea, for example, where he will feel at home, as only the regime’s propaganda is allowed to exist.”
In March 2020, Lu Shaye already accused French journalists of “making fun of China” and telling “lies” about his country’s role in the Covid-19 pandemic. In his previous position in Canada, the ambassador also made a name for himself, not hesitating to accuse the government of “bowing down to journalists concerned about human rights”. The Chinese ambassador’s aggressive attitude towards journalists reflects the regime’s policy conceived at the highest level of the regime in order to influence international media coverage, as RSF demonstrated in a report entitled “China’s Pursuit of a New World Media Order” in 2019.
In early October, the editor-in-chief of the Chinese official media Global Times, Hu Xijin, violently attacked RSF, accusing the organisation of “building an alliance of lies” to harm China and comparing it with a “wild dog” that better watch out for China’s “stick”.
China ranks 177th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2021 RSF World Press Freedom Index, only two places ahead of North Korea, and detains at least 122 journalists and press freedom defenders.
無國界記者：“我們禮貌性呼籲中國駐法大使停止對記者鬼吼鬼叫”
中國駐巴黎大使盧沙野再次指責法國記者報導中國時“撒謊”，並展開猛烈抨擊。無國界記者堅信外交官無權教授新聞課，來自全球新聞自由表現最差政權的外交官尤其如此。
中國駐法大使盧沙野出了名地喜歡謾罵媒體，他在2021年10月25日（一）再次騷擾法國記者，發表語帶報復的聲明攻擊《費加洛報》的亞洲特派記者法雷提（Sébastien Falletti），指責他在10月19日發表的文章“散布大量謊言謬論”、“肆意歪曲現實”，並為台灣政府助長聲勢。盧大使還順便挖苦《世界報》北京特派記者勒梅特（Frédéric Lemaître），暗示他的文章多半是捏造的不實報導，還不要臉地提醒法國媒體“恪守職業道德、尊重事實”。
無國界記者秘書長德洛瓦（Christophe Deloire）表示：“中國駐巴黎大使代表的是全球新聞自由表現最差的政權之一，他極度不適合教授新聞課。我們禮貌性呼籲他徹底停止對媒體咆哮。如果盧沙野認為法國媒體對他來說太獨立自主，他大可請調到北韓這類的威權國家，那邊會讓他有回到家的感覺，因為當地只容得下政權宣傳的存在。”
盧沙野早在2020年3月已指責過法國記者“取笑中國”、對中國在新冠疫情扮演的角色“撒謊”。他之前派駐加拿大時也毫不猶豫地指責加國政府“向關心人權的記者低頭”，為自己打開知名度。盧沙野對記者的霸道姿態反映中國最高層級官員為左右國際媒體報導而制定的政策，也和無國界記者2019年發表的調查報告《中國追求的世界傳媒新秩序》內容不謀而合。
中國官媒《環球時報》總編輯胡錫進曾於10月初猛烈抨擊無國界記者，指責無國界記者“捏造一堆謊言”傷害中國，還說無國界記者這只“野狗”最好提防中國的打狗棒。
中國在2021年無國界記者世界新聞自由指數的180個國家和地區中排名第177，只比北韓高兩個名次，目前至少有122名記者和新聞自由捍衛者在當地坐牢。
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REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES / REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS / 無國界記者
轉載自無國界記者網頁https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-we-courteously-call-chinese-ambassador-paris-end-his-impassioned-rants-against-journalists
