US Tightens Visa Rules for Chinese Journalists Amid CCP Virus Tensions

FDA Bans 65 Chinese Mask Makers for Failing to Meet Filtration Standards

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revoked approval for more than 60 N95-type mask manufacturers in China to export to the United States, after testing found that many of their products did not meet quality standards. The agency on May 7 cut the number of authorized manufacturers in China to 14 from around 80. Previously, on April 3, it had authorized the import of China-made masks that hadn’t been tested to counter shortages in personal protective equipment. One condition of that policy, however, was that the masks be tested by independent labs. Millions of masks had been imported since then. Testing by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that many of the masks did not meet the…

WASHINGTON—The United States issued a new rule on May 8 tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists, saying it was in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, a shift that comes amid tensions between the two nations over the CCP virus global pandemic.

The United States and the Chinese communist regime have been engaged in a series of retaliatory actions involving journalists in recent months.

In March, the Chinese regime expelled American journalists from three U.S. newspapers, a month after the United States said it would begin to treat five Chinese state-run media entities with U.S. operations the same as foreign embassies. One day after the U.S. verdict on the state-run entities, Beijing expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents, two Americans and an Australian.

In issuing the new regulation on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security cited what it called the Chinese regime’s “suppression of independent journalism.”

The regulation, which will take effect on Monday, will limit visas for Chinese reporters to a 90-day period, with the option for extension. Such visas are typically open-ended and do not need to be extended unless the employee moves to a different company or medium.

A senior DHS official, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, said the new rules would allow the department to review Chinese journalist visa applications more frequently and would likely reduce the overall number of Chinese journalists in the United States.

“It’s going to create greater national security protections,” the official said.

The new rules will not apply to journalists with passports from Hong Kong or Macau, China’s two semi-autonomous territories, according to DHS.

Tensions between the United States and the Chinese regime have increased in recent months as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, has swept across the globe, killing tens of thousands of people worldwide.

By Ted Hesson. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report. 

Focus News: US Tightens Visa Rules for Chinese Journalists Amid CCP Virus Tensions

China Needs to Develop More Nukes to Curb the US: Editor of Chinese State-Run Newspaper

China should expand its stock of nuclear warheads to 1,000 to counter the challenges posed by the United States, chief editor of the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper argued in a May 8 social media post. The communist regime’s nuclear arsenal should include “at least 100 DF-41 strategic missiles,” said Hu Xijin, who is known for his hawkish stance on foreign relations. The DF-41, unveiled in mid-2019 by the rocket force of China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is estimated to have a 12,000- to 15,000-kilometer range, the longest nuclear operating range in the world, and is capable of striking the continental United States. “We love peace and promise not to use nuclear weapons first, but we need a bigger nuclear arsenal to suppress U.S. strategic ambition and impulse against…