NEW YORK CITY—The United Nations has again denied press credentials to several reporters from two American media companies—The Epoch Times and its sister network, NTD—a pattern that has repeated for more than two decades and has raised concerns of Chinese influence behind the scenes.
Epoch Times senior White House correspondent Emel Akan traveled to New York with the State Department press pool to cover activities relating to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 22.
Akan submitted her application for U.N. press credentials through the State Department and received an email confirming her slot in the press pool. The email informed her to pick up her press pass at a New York hotel where the State Department hosts side events.
When she arrived on Sept. 22, a State Department official told Akan that the U.N. had rejected the application, stating that it recognizes The Epoch Times as a nongovernmental organization, rather than a news organization.
Two staff members representing NTD’s Washington bureau—White House correspondent Mari Otsu and videographer Chen Lei—received no confirmation after they submitted their applications. A representative with the U.N. told Otsu by phone that she did not meet the requirements, but declined to specify further.
Epoch Times Editor-in-Chief Jasper Fakkert called on the U.N. “to provide The Epoch Times with the press credentials it needs to do its job, which is to provide our readers with factual and impartial information.”
“The Epoch Times is America’s 4th largest newspaper. It is unacceptable that the United Nations caves to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) censorship efforts on American soil,” Fakkert said in a statement on Sept. 23.
Escalating Campaign in US
The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 in the United States by Chinese Americans in response to censorship and human rights abuses in China. It is an independent news organization that now publishes in 22 languages across 33 countries.
The first group of Epoch Times staff members in China were arrested and tortured, and several received 10-year prison sentences. Over the years, the newspaper has faced sustained efforts by the Chinese regime and its agents to shut it down. This includes attacks on its reporters and printing facilities in Hong Kong, as well as frequent cyber sabotage.
CCP leader Xi Jinping in 2022 personally directed Chinese security agencies to intensify its targeting of The Epoch Times and NTD as part of a broader transnational repression campaign, whistleblowers revealed in 2024.
In March 2024, U.S. authorities charged a dozen Chinese contract hackers and law enforcement officials for their involvement in a years-long hacking campaign whose targets included The Epoch Times.
More recently, Chinese cyberactors impersonated The Epoch Times to threaten U.S. federal agencies.
For years, Chinese authorities have put pressure on the U.N. to interfere with The Epoch Times’ reporting efforts.
In 2019, the U.N. also rejected Akan’s application to cover U.N. high level meetings without explanation. When asked for more clarification via several emails, the U.N. failed to respond for two weeks; then the U.N. department of global communications replied from a generic email address, without a name attached. The person told Akan that “the outlet you applied with does not meet the requirements for news outlets.” The person declined to elaborate and ignored requests to appeal the decision, saying they consider applications on a case-by-case basis.
In 2003, after days of unanswered follow-ups, a U.N. press official in New York told NTD that “pressure from the Chinese” had caused complications with its application to cover the Human Rights Commission events in Geneva. The same thing occurred again in June 2004, with a U.N. official acknowledging receiving calls from the Chinese officials about the press access. The agency, after an initial rejection, eventually issued the credential.
Despite that, the U.N. had stalled and dismissed multiple attempts for the broadcaster to increase reporters covering the agency. The two reporters stationed at the U.N. found their activities constricted. The U.N. press officials, citing complaints from the Chinese delegation, restricted their reporting access where Chinese delegates appeared.
The Chinese regime’s influence in the U.N. manifests in other aspects.
For years, the U.N. has barred Taiwan from participating in its forums, including the U.N. General Assembly and the World Health Organization, despite repeated urging from the United States and other countries.
The U.N. has also refused to accredit Taiwanese journalists.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) in April 2024 told The Epoch Times that the Chinese regime is “getting away with murder” while manipulating the U.N. system.
“Everywhere you look, it is bad and getting worse, and they are doing a full-court press at the United Nations to cover it up,” Smith said.
The U.N. didn’t return multiple calls from The Epoch Times about the CCP’s influence over its decision to refuse The Epoch Times credentials. A U.N. spokesperson directed The Epoch Times to the agency’s media accreditation office, which didn’t immediately respond.
“The Epoch Times has faced a relentless decades-long campaign by the CCP to target its reporters, advertisers, and printing facilities. We will continue our commitment to freedom of the press,” Fakkert said.
By Eva Fu
