China has reached out to the U.S. over reports that the Department of Justice has ordered two top Chinese state-run news outlets to register as foreign agents, a spokesman said Wednesday, adding that Beijing opposed "politicizing" the role of the media.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that Beijing had "contacted and communicated" with the U.S. side over the issue, but gave no details.
"Media serve as an important bridge and link to help the people from different countries to better understand and communicate with each other," Geng told reporters at a daily briefing. "We should provide convenience for media's normal works instead of posing obstacles, still less politicizing their role."
The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday that the Xinhua News Agency and CGTN, the international arm of state broadcaster CCTV, had been told in recent weeks to register as foreign agents amid growing scrutiny of efforts by overseas media organizations to influence U.S. public opinion. The demand was also reported by Bloomberg News.
Registering with the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, would put Xinhua and CGTN in the same legal category as lobbyists working for overseas entities and could cause them to lose their congressional press credentials, as happened to the U.S. affiliate of Russia's state-run RT television network, the Journal reported.
The U.S. broadcaster for Russia's government-controlled Sputnik Radio also registered under FARA. Both Russian outlets had been accused by U.S. intelligence of being part of a Moscow-led effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Following that, in January a letter from a bipartisan group of senators including Marco Rubio and Patrick Leahy called on the Justice Department to provide information on state-run Chinese media operating in the U.S., including Xinhua, which is directly under the control of the State Council, China's Cabinet, and exists to produce news reports, distribute propaganda and collect intelligence.
The letter cited a report from the National Endowment for Democracy, saying both China and Russia exploit a "glaring asymmetry" by raising "barriers to external political and cultural influence at home while simultaneously taking advantage of the openness of democratic systems abroad."
"A sensible step for the United States government to take is appropriately enforcing existing laws, such as FARA, designed to protect against just such concerns," the letter said.
Chinese media is almost entirely state-run and heavily censored, while the country maintains strict limits on the presence and ability of foreign outlets to report and travel in the country.
Another state outlet, China Daily, has registered under FARA through its U.S. distribution company. The newspaper has been aggressively seeking to boost its presence in the U.S. through newsstand sales and inserts in the Washington Post and other American newspapers. CGTN and other Chinese news organizations have also been rapidly expanding their foreign presences.
Spokesmen for Xinhua and CGTN could not immediately be contacted for comment.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
