Sydnie Kohara:
Hello, and welcome to LinkAsia. I'm Sydnie Kohara. Yul Kwon is on vacation. The Chinese government expelled a foreign correspondent this week. Melissa Chan, Al Jazeera English's Beijing correspondent, was told her journalist's visa would not be renewed. She was ordered to leave China immediately and flew out on Monday. Chan, an American, is the first foreign journalist to be kicked out in 14 years. Al Jazeera announced it was closing its office in China, because authorities would not discuss a replacement for Chan. Chan's colleagues in the foreign press corps called her a tough, hard-hitting reporter. In fact, LinkAsia recently ran a story that she did on black jails, places where Chinese citizens are held in secret detention, without charge, for days or weeks. Chinese authorities would not say exactly why Melissa Chan's credentials were not renewed.

Hong Lei, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman:
Foreign correspondents enjoy a very free reporting environment in China. Meanwhile, we stress that foreign correspondents must abide by Chinese law and regulations and journalistic ethics when reporting in China. We handled the media organization and its staff in question based on law, and regulations and the performance of that person.