VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The US is placing new restrictions on Chinese news outlets, forcing them to cut nearly half of their US-based staff. The move to limit the number of reporters is being seen as a retaliation for Beijing's expulsion of two US journalists last month. Five Chinese state outlets will be forced to reduce their US staff by 40%. US officials accused China of a crackdown on free speech not seen since the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. The US state department said it was hearing of increasing harassment and surveillance of American and other foreign journalists in China. As quoted by BBC.com ( 03/3) , US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that five media outlets, including China's official news agency Xinhua, would be required to reduce their total number of staff to 100 from 160//BBC.com